


The Hunt

by MosaicCreme



Series: Targeted Interference [3]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2019-08-02 18:09:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 69,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16310159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MosaicCreme/pseuds/MosaicCreme
Summary: [AU] After losing Karin Williams, a woman who was like a mother to her, Jasmine finds her self-control to be ... lacking. Thane loves her too much to watch her slip away, though, so he's ready to fight—if that's what it takes—to help her regain control. Now that they know the Alliance is definitely in bed with Cerberus, they have a rough path ahead of them, and she needs to be at her best.





	1. Prologue: Sobriety

**Prologue: Sobriety**

"Project Evolution," Avalina said, "is led by a Cerberus scientist named Dr. Hazel Vance. Her team consists of sixteen other scientists, eleven medical doctors, and forty others in various positions ranging from handling finances, administrative task, and janitorial, to guarding the facility. I'll send you a full list of names with my report. I haven't been able to pinpoint their location just yet, but I am able to confirm for you that Project Evolution is sponsored by the Alliance, unofficially. Admiral Sergey Vladimir Petrovich acts as a liaison between the Alliance and Project Evolution's team, providing them with a portion of the funding the project requires as well as soldiers recruited for experimentation."

Jasmine sucked in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds before blowing it back out with a harshly spoken, "Sonofabitch."

_I'm too tired for this shit._

It'd been hours since her last Videlicet, and her brain itched. She couldn't just get up and walk out, though. It'd be too suspicious. Both Isaac and Thane knew how long she'd been waiting for the news Avalina just handed her on a shiny, hundred thousand credit, silver platter. She needed to keep her shit underwraps. The conversation would be over soon, and then she'd excuse herself. She almost felt the rush of the stims hitting her system just thinking about it.

_What the fuck am I doing? Oh, God. What the fuck am I doing? At least it's not red sand._

"You're completely certain?" Isaac asked, rubbing a hand over his face and snapping Jasmine out of her fantasies of pressing the auto-injector against her skin.

She glanced up at Isaac before shifting to Avalina. Feeling Thane's gaze on her, she turned her head enough to look at him and offer him a smile. He'd been watching her closely since showing up on Earth and taking out her kills before she could pull the trigger. He didn't say anything, but she knew he wanted to; she saw it in his tight-lipped expression every time she caught him looking at her. It made her paranoid as all hell, even coming from the one person she trusted more than anyone else—even Isaac. Setting a hand on his knee, she turned her attention back to the screen.

"Entirely." Avalina lifted a brow, smirking at Isaac before turning her attention back to Jasmine. "I'll let you know as soon as I have a location for you." She watched Jasmine for a moment before folding her hands on her desk. "Cerberus is full of dangerous, and I'm now convinced, irredeemable people. If you intend to confront Cerberus … I offer you use of all of my skills—free of charge."

* * *

A week passed since Karin's funeral, and yet Jasmine continued to use stims. Continued to try and hide it from Thane, from Isaac, from everyone. Thane spent several long hours debating on whether or not he should speak to Isaac about the situation, believing it'd most certainly be seen as a betrayal in her eyes. He thought Isaac might be better suited to help her with the situation, but he couldn't bring himself to betray her trust; at least not until he'd worked up the courage to  _try_  to help himself.

He licked his lips, sucking in a deep breath, the chemical odor flooding his nostrils as it intermingled with her scent. "Siha …."

Putting down the datapad, she rolled over and looked at him, her eyes dark and sunken despite the light-giving lamps on either side of the bed. "Yeah?" she said, the movement drawing his gaze to the gauntness of her cheeks.

_She looks …. Arashu, save her._

"Forgive me, I'm not sure how to approach this topic, but I fear I've waited too long as it is." He drew his brow ridges in and swallowed. "I know … that is, I'm aware of your use of stims … and I'm concerned."

Shutter slamming closed, she didn't move, not even to blink for several, long moments. When at last she finally spoke, tears welled in her eyes. "Does Isaac know? Geoffrey? Oh God, the kids?"

"I haven't spoken about it to anyone, but I can't say for certain one way or the other." Taking a gamble, he shifted his weight to reach out and stroke her jaw. When she didn't flinch or pull away from him, he used his thumb to brush away the tears sliding down her cheeks. "But perhaps Geoffrey and Isaac should know. I'm at a loss as to how to help you with this other than to listen to whatever you might have to say and offer you my unconditional love and support."

Pinning her lower lip between her teeth, she shook her head. "It would be like a slap in the face to tell Geoffrey I'm using after Karin's death, and Isaac … I've put enough on him. And, I've already been walking a fine line with him, anyway. I can't afford to push him further away. It's not a big deal. I'll just stop using them."

"Siha …." He let the endearment linger as he considered his next words carefully. "I can't pretend to know how they might react at first, but it's clear to me they both love you and will want to do whatever they can to help you put this behind you." Hesitating, he brushed his fingers over her forehead, pushing aside hair. "Please, Jasmine. It pains me to see you like this. You've barely slept or eaten in days, and I'm  _afraid_  for you."

Squeezing her eyes closed, she took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded her head. "Okay."

_Oh, praise Arashu. Thank you, siha. Thank you._

* * *

"Where are we going?" Scraping her teeth over her lip, she shoved her hands between her knees, trapping them there to keep from fidgeting as she watched Isaac pace.

She didn't know what to expect when she'd asked Thane to gather Isaac and Geoffrey into Geoffrey's study so she could talk to them. It took her a solid ten minutes after Thane walked out of the room to fight back the urge to take her stims and run. The thought of telling Geoffery and Isaac terrified her, and she hadn't been sure whose reaction she dreaded more. Neither of them responded the way she'd imagined.

"Back to Lusia." Stopping in front of her, Isaac turned his attention to Thane. "If it's alright with you?"

"Of course." Thane settled a hand on her knee, giving her a gentle squeeze.

Sucking in a deep breath she fought the urge to argue against Lusia, knowing it'd be pretty damn hard for her to get her hands on stims  _or_ red sand on the asari planet. Hell, the fact probably weighed heavily in Isaac's choice. She felt itchy and shaky, invisible insects wriggling beneath her skin and boring holes through her brain. The manufacturer's box of Videlicet she'd turned over with her confession sat on Geoffrey's desk, calling to her with whispered promises of making everything better if she'd use  _just one more_.

Moving to the desk, Geoffrey silently picked up the box and carried it out of the room—away from her longing gaze. The kids finally started going back to school the day before, so there wasn't any chance of them seeing the drugs and asking their father about the box—at least she'd be spared the shame of  _them_  learning she'd relapsed. Miraculously, she'd managed to stay away of red sand, somehow convincing herself using stims wasn't a major thing to be concerned about because they  _weren't_  what she  _really_ craved.

Isaac resumed his pacing, though it didn't seem agitated quite so much as thoughtful. Every other pass, he glanced at her, a frown tugging at his lips, sadness in his eyes. She thought she'd rather he be angry with her. Anger she could handle. Pity not so much.

Returning, Geoffrey sat on the couch to her left and put an arm around her, pulling her into his side. "I wish you would've come to me sooner, kiddo," he said, voice soft and low enough to stay between the two of them before kissing the top of her head. "You're a part of this family, Jasmine. You'll  _always_  be a part of this family, and having a family means having people you can turn to and lean on when you're struggling. No matter what."

Shame washed through her, tears welling up in her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time since her discussion with Thane the night before. Turning, she buried her face against his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Geoffrey. I'm so sorry."

* * *

"Again." Isaac's plan for Jasmine's rehabilitation apparently relied heavily on him and Thane taking turns kicking her ass, over and over.

She gritted her teeth as she braced herself, sucking in a breath and giving him a curt nod. He lunged at her, forcing her to block a flurry of blows while being mindful of the uneven terrain. She didn't see the kick coming, and it caught her thigh, making her leg buckle enough it forced her to choose whether to take the next kick or roll out of the way, so she rolled. Broken sticks and rocky debris dug into her back and side, but she ignored the pricks of pain and popped back up to her feet.

Relentless, Isaac came at her again, landing a palm strike on her good shoulder before she'd fully reoriented herself, sending her sprawling backward. She managed to turn the fall into something useful, tucking herself into a roll before snapping her foot out at his ankles. He jumped over her attempted sweep and aimed a kick at her midsection, forcing her to roll again.

Her shoulder still ached, but apparently—according to the asari doctor he took her to the week before—the mesh completely dissolved and the bone healed. The doctor warned her it very likely would continue to ache for quite some time, especially with strenuous activity, but she should definitely exercise and use it regularly unless the pain shifted from aching to sharp and shooting. The damage to her abdomen likewise mended, but it might continue to cause her some discomfort for a while longer, too.

Despite knowing for certain the Alliance and Cerberus worked together on some sick-ass, super soldier program, Isaac wouldn't talk about it with her, insisting she just needed to focus on getting her head on straight for the time being. She had zero clues as to what he planned to do—if anything—with the information they'd gathered. Thanks to Avalina and the turian couple back on Earth, they'd secured the locations for two different Cerberus facilities, and Jasmine wanted nothing more than to wipe those facilities out of existence.

Well … that and get high. God, she wanted to get high.

Which was  _so_  not going to happen. Even if she intended to—which she didn't—Isaac and Thane both watched her like hawks. Thane even made damn sure she took her supplements every four hours on the dot, going so far as to wake her up in the middle of the night for the next dose. She didn't even  _think_ about using him to get high until he started shoving prophylactic pills down her throat at all hours of the day and night. The stims were long out of her system, but she still heard them in the back of her mind, a new voice to join the sweet nothings red sand whispered in her ear for years.

Avalina came out every couple of days to visit and work with Jasmine on learning to detect, disarm, and set a variety of traps. Although Jasmine never directly said so, Avalina seemed to pick up easily enough who Isaac was to Jasmine and began to treat him with a modicum of deference when it came time to teach her new skills. Had it been Leon instead, it probably would've pissed her off, but she didn't mind so much with Isaac. God knew she was lucky as fuck the man didn't abandon her, let alone turn her ass in several times over since becoming her handler.

* * *

Thane watched from the porch as Jasmine and Isaac sparred. They'd been on Lusia for just over two weeks, and in that time alone, he'd seen her skills at hand-to-hand combat greatly improve—though she didn't seem to realize it herself with as much as she complained about being bested. She fought hard, though—not just in her training, but with remaining sober—and she looked so much better for her efforts. Once again, her skin glowed and mischief danced in her eyes. She'd started to laugh again over the last few days, the sound soothing the ache in his soul, and when they made love, her ribs and hip bones no longer stood out so prominently against her skin. He hated to think what the drugs might've done to her if he'd allowed it to continue unchallenged.

Although Isaac kept discussions of Cerberus away from Jasmine, for the time being, he'd begun strategizing with Thane while she slept or worked with Avalina. It seemed he felt every bit as devoted to putting an end to Cerberus' horrendous experimentations as Jasmine, and he wanted Thane's assistance—which he felt more than happy to provide, free of charge considering the significant loss of innocent lives involved. At least he told himself he agreed for the sake of the innocents and not simply because it meant being with Jasmine and helping to keep her safe. Isaac agreed to Avalina's offer of aid, as well, and Jasmine mentioned on a couple of occasions that Ares—though she referred to him as 'Nemos' around Isaac—expressed an interest in helping to take down Cerberus should she decide on the particular course of action.

Thane realized their time on Lusia wasn't just about helping Jasmine to recover, but also about preparing her for what was to come. Perhaps to prepare them  _all_  for what was to come.

* * *

He delighted in the sound of her bark of laughter as she landed the fourth strike on him that day alone. Indeed, she learned quickly, and it made him wonder just how deadly she'd be if she'd begun her training as a child as he did. Still, he worried about her. Worried about her safety facing Cerberus, worried about her falling into old habits, and worried about what learning the Alliance wasn't as good and honest as she'd believed did to her.

"Sunshine," Isaac said, walking out of the cabin, "I need you to pack up, we've been assigned a job on the Citadel."

Thane stopped, taking a step back from Jasmine and turning to the side as he tucked his hands behind his back, signaling the end of their sparring match. She moved to the foot of the stairs and picked up the towel she'd left draped over the railing. Wiping the sweat from her face and neck, she didn't say anything for several, long seconds.

"What's up?" Isaac arched an eyebrow.

Letting out a heavy sigh, she looked up at her handler. "I'm not so sure I want to work for the Alliance anymore."

Isaac moved down two steps and sat on the porch, resting his elbows on his bent knees. "You're still under contract, Jasmine. If you go AWOL, they'll be looking for you."

"I know," she said, looking down at the ground and running the towel over her face again before wrapping it around her neck. Sitting down on the porch next to him, she laced her fingers and kept her gaze down. "It'll be up soon, though. I've been thinking about leaving when it expires since the way they handled shit with Leon … but now, with this Cerberus crap …. I don't want to leave you behind, Bossman, but I can't stand the idea of being a part of something that's even a little responsible for shit as sick as this insanity with Cerberus. I don't know what it'll mean for you and me, though."

Feeling as if he shouldn't intrude on the conversation at hand, Thane quietly excused himself. Brushing his fingertips over her shoulder in a show of silent support as he moved past her, he went inside. Avalina sat inside at the dining table, a mug of  _bla'ada_  in her hand. She looked up and smiled at him as he approached and took the seat across from her.

Sipping from her cup before setting it down, Avalina said, "I was watching from the window. She is quite skilled, perhaps you hold back too much with her."

He chuckled, bracing his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together in front of his face. "I'm sure she would agree, but I hold back less and less each day. I don't wish to overwhelm or discourage her when she's already struggling in her mind to come to terms with other matters."

"This woman, Karin, she was like a mother to Jasmine, wasn't she?" She picked her cup up again, letting it hover in front of her mouth while she watched him.

"Indeed." He lowered his gaze, fighting back the memories of finding her sobbing hysterically as she sat curled in Isaac's lap like a child. "I wasn't aware she'd spoken to you of Karin." Though, he found it pleased him.

Humming, she took a sip from her cup. "She told me about Karin a couple of weeks ago when I found her crying on the back porch. It was quite the enlightening conversation, for both of us. I decided to tell her about Tarava's death and the choices I made after. Her level of insight surprises me, especially for one so young, even for her species. It saddens me, though, as I know such wisdom doesn't come without tragedy and experience."

* * *

Jasmine rested her head against Isaac when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. Massive amounts of relief flooded her when he told her no matter what she decided to do with her service contract, he considered her to be one of his, and he didn't intend to cut her out of his life.

"Besides," he said after a moment, turning to rest his chin on top of her head, "we're friends, and we're in this shit too deep to not stick together."

She chuckled and let out a heavy sigh, more of the weight she'd been carrying on her shoulders over the last few weeks slipping away. "So, still no regrets for taking me on?"

"Nah. Don't get me wrong, you're trouble with a capital 'T', but you've got a few redeemable qualities, too."

Snorting, she pinched his side, and he laughed. Pulling back to sit upright again, she let out another sigh. "So, what's this job?"

"Salarian smuggler on the Citadel." Isaac shifted down a couple of steps and leaned back on his elbows, looking up at her. "He works at Citadel Souvenirs and traffics drugs and weapons through the business."

She thought about it for a moment, flipping through her mental list of names and places until something clicked. "Oh. Cool. I might have an in at Citadel Souvenirs if we need it … sorta."

Charles Fairclough aka 'YouDon'tKnow' worked at the store. She'd never met him, but Ares more or less confirmed he'd checked the guy out and fucked him. She mentioned to Ares she might need him for something at some point, but she never really expected for it to ever come up.

"Sorta?" Isaac raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged and leaned back on her palms. "Someone on ' _Assassins Unveiled_ ' works there, but they don't know I know, and I haven't established contact with them outside of the extranet site."

Bobbing his head a little, he asked, "You think you can get them to open a few doors for you or something?"

Pursing her lips, she thought about it for a few more seconds and then nodded. "Probably." Although she thought sending Isaac in to talk to him might work better, she didn't say so, thinking they'd just plan all of it out later. "What about Thane?"

After a moment, Isaac shrugged. "If he wants to go, I'm not going to stop him, but I think he said something last night about receiving a dossier. He might have a job lined up."

She furrowed her brow. "He didn't say anything to me about one."

"There's a lot we haven't talked to you about, Sunshine. We wanted you to stay focused." He pursed his lips, gaze sweeping over her. "But … I think you're ready now."

* * *

She sat on the couch, snuggled in against Thane's side. Isaac sat across from her, and Avalina next to her. They called Theodus into their meeting via Jasmine's laptop and Raúl on Isaac's. She'd considered calling Ares in, too, but she knew damn well he'd be pissed if she just threw him into a conversation with a bunch of other people without time to think about it. She'd reach out to him on the Citadel, once things were all in place, see if he really wanted to join in on the hunt. If he wanted to put up the effort to play nice with everyone, anyway.

"So, we have the most information on the facility located on Gellix thanks to the contact Theodus found us and a little research." Isaac glanced at Theodus, giving him a nod of his head, and Theodus smirked. "We'll be hitting Gellix first. It'll give us a better idea of what to expect from Cerberus, and it appears to be a relatively small facility." He shifted his focus to the asari sitting next to Jasmine. "Avalina uncovered the location for the compound housing Project Evolution as well as some information on four other cells spread throughout the galaxy. Project Evolution is housed on Akuze. There are also bases on Binthu, Nepheron, Chasca, and Benning, but we don't have much information on those, yet." He glanced back and forth between Avalina and Theodus. "If the two of you can work together to uncover more information on those, I'll gladly pay whatever you require."

Taking a deep breath and then clearing this throat, Theodus drew everyone's attention to his screen. "I would like to join this little team of yours, in the flesh, that is. I may not have the fighting skills Avalina brings to the table, but I believe I can aid you in the fight in other ways. Besides, I'm sure you'd much rather have Avalina's attention focused on using her commando skills rather than hacking through Cerberus consoles and locked doors."

Raúl scoffed, and when Jasmine looked his way, she caught him rolling his eyes. "I can easily hack through their consoles and any one of us can unlock a damn door."

"True," Theodus said, honey dripping from his tongue, "but if I'm not mistaken, your skills don't lie solely in hacking, either. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have everyone  _capable_  of combat actually focused on combat? I know nothing of fighting, well, very little. Why not let me focus on the tech while everyone else worries about keeping us alive?"

"Theodus, are you certain?" Thane loosened his grip on Jasmine and sat forward, eyeing the other drell.

Flashing Thane a bright smile, Theodus said, "I'm told I need to get out of my house more often anyway."

Jasmine didn't like the idea, not one bit. He just admitted to not knowing anything about fighting, he'd be a liability. And if something happened to him ….

"Let us take some time to think about it," Isaac said. "We'll let you know before we make a move."

Theodus leaned back in his chair, gently swiveling it from side to side. "Don't take too long. I have a few toys I've been wanting to try out, but I'll need some time to make sure they're ready to go."

"I have another friend who might be joining us—I haven't talked to him yet—but, I think we'll have more than enough guns between all of us to be able to spare someone to open doors or break into servers or whatever …. There isn't any need for you to be in the middle of a battlefield, too."

He watched her in silence for a moment, a slow smile spreading across his snow-white face. "Your concern is touching, but I  _want_  to do this."

"Jasmine and I have a job to tend to before we do anything else," Isaac said.

Thane let out a concerned-sounding sigh and sat back again, lifting his arm for Jasmine to move back in against his side. "As do I."

Isaac bobbed his head. "We'll meet again to finalize the details once we're finished."


	2. Spiders and Flies

**Spiders and Flies**

Thane found himself back on Omega, once again watching Dr. Solus from the shadows of the clinic. He stayed there for quite some time, but as soon as the room cleared, the salarian turned toward Thane's hiding place, a bright smile on his face. Stepping out of the shadows, Thane dipped his head to the doctor.

"Glad you're here. Much to talk about. Office private." Apparently more at ease with Thane since his last visit, Dr. Solus pivoted on his heel, turning his back to Thane and started walking, leaving Thane to either follow or not.

Thane followed. He didn't know with certainty what the doctor wanted to speak with him about, or why he'd insisted it happen in person, but Corlina's crazed eyes staring back at him in the attached dossier was enough to tempt Thane to heed the doctor's summons. Although it wasn't entirely clear what Dr. Solus intended by sending him the dossier, there remained a certain aura of responsibility surrounding anything related to Sahnira which he couldn't ignore. He closed the door behind them, gaze roaming over the neatly organized, sterile room and took a seat when the doctor waved his hand at a chair.

Dr. Solus sat down behind the desk and opened his laptop, taking a moment to log in and pull up whatever he wanted to share with Thane before meeting his gaze again. "Corlina escaped institution on Thessia. Killed four asari and stole skycar. Believed to still be on Thessia. Reports of asari acting strangely in Telathanda, unearthing something in ancient ruins, talking to self, aggressive towards concerned locals."

"I … I see." Thane blinked, disturbed by the revelation but still uncertain why the doctor called on him. "Are the asari not doing anything?"

"Can't. Telathanda believed to be sacred ground, mortals forbidden. Spilling blood on sacred ground also forbidden." Turning the laptop around, Dr. Solus showed Thane aerial images of the ruins. "No asari will go after her."

Collapsing stone buildings filled the area, many overgrown with vines, others dislodged by tree roots. In the middle of the ruins, an asari stood, surrounded by a dome of biotic energy, debris floating around her as she funneled it away from something dark and jagged protruding from the ground. There was no way to verify the asari's identity from the images alone, but his instincts told him it could be no one else.

"What would you have me do?" Thane asked, tearing his gaze away from the images to look at the salarian once more.

Dr. Solus spread his hands. "Corlina danger to self and others. Isolation and confinement failed. Could attempt to recapture her, turn her over to Thessian authorities, but will likely escape again. Could kill her. Choice is yours. Will be paid either way." He blinked both sets of eyelids. "Study of corpse could prove useful."

* * *

Jasmine waited down the hall next to the door of an empty apartment, feeling every bit like a spider perched on its web, waiting for its prey to arrive. She'd watched Charles from a distance for a couple of days while he worked, trying to get a feel for whether or not the guy liked women, too, or just other men. If he was only interested in men, it might be a little difficult for her to weasel her way into his life, in which case, she'd send Isaac. 'YouDon'tKnow' certainly seemed to like both men and women on ' _Assassins Unveiled_ ', but it didn't necessarily mean he did in real life.

She couldn't get a solid read on him, though. His customer service skills were stellar, and he flashed the same smile at everyone who walked through the door, no matter species or sex. So, she decided she'd just have to meet him in person, up close and personal, away from his job. She'd considered calling Ares to ask how best to approach Charles since Ares had some experience with him, but she decided against it. She didn't want to reach out to the turian until ready to present him with the gift of getting the chance to shoot people and blow shit up.

Charles turned a corner and headed down the hall, so she started walking toward him. He stopped in front of his door and opened his omni-tool, still not seeming to pick up on her presence, so she let her footsteps fall a little heavier. Turning his head, he looked at her, and then he  _looked_  at her.

_Gotcha._

The smile she gave him when he met her gaze actually felt genuine. There was something nice and even relaxing about being back on the job. Thoughts of Karin and stims temporarily locked away while she began her hunt. And … he was cute, nothing over-the-top spectacular, but cute; tall and lean, blond hair and blue eyes. Then he smiled, not the smile he used at work, but a full on grin.

_Woah._

She blinked a few times, regaining her composure. Okay, so he definitely fell into the 'hot' category. He started to turn his attention away from her, so she made her move: tripping over her own feet, she threw herself to the floor, crying out as if in shock and pain. Pulling herself up to sitting, she grabbed her ankle and rocked back and forth. Letting the words slip past her lips in a hiss, she said, "Ow. Ow. Ow."

"Are you alright?" he asked a moment later, voice wary yet concerned.

" _Will you walk into my parlor?" said the Spider to the Fly._

Squeezing a couple of tears out, she turned to look up at him, adding a little quiver to her voice. "I think I sprained my ankle."

"Do you … should I call a doctor or something?" Lowering his arm, omni-tool still open, he moved a little closer.

"Um … no. I think I'll be alright." Pulling her 'good' leg beneath her, she winced and let out a whimper as she started to push herself up.

"Here, let me help you," he said, closing in on her and holding out his hands.

She fought back a smirk as he bent down, sliding his hands around her and lending her support. When she got to her feet, and he didn't let go, she knew for sure she had him.

* * *

"So, Charles," she said as she put the cap back on the bottle of water he gave her to swallow down some over the counter pain relievers—utter crap which wouldn't do a single fucking thing to get her high, let alone really help if she were truly hurting. It was okay, though, she'd gotten clean again and intended to stay that way. At least it was what she needed to keep telling herself.

_Fake it 'til you make it._

"What do you do?" Eyeing his work uniform, 'Citadel Souvenirs' clearly emblazoned on the chest, she raised an eyebrow.

He'd stayed in the kitchen on the opposite side of the breakfast bar from her after getting her an ice pack and pain relievers. Leaning against the far counter, it seemed as if he did his best to keep plenty of space and solid objects between them. She found it curious and wondered if it was just habit—after all, he worked behind a counter all day—or if there was something about her which put him on edge. Maybe he just wasn't used to having company, strangers invading his personal space. If she had to guess, judging by the size of the massive vid screen and the worn out furniture in the living room, the man spent far too much time at home alone, sitting on his ass and watching vids.

"Uh, I work at Citadel Souvenirs." He reached in his pocket, and she tracked the movement with her peripherals until his hand reappeared with a pack of cigarettes. "What about you?"

"I'm … between jobs at the moment," she said, adding a little regret to her voice as she turned her attention to the beautiful, Alaskan Malamute pup sitting next to her stool and staring up at her. "What's Citadel Souvenirs like?" she asked, glancing back up at him and giving him a chagrined smile. "They hiring?"

He chuckled and lit a black, filtered cigarette, the scent of cloves filling the air. "They just hired someone, actually. A few weeks ago."

"That's too bad." Sticking out her lower lip, she shrugged. "Do you like it there?"

"It's not  _terrible_." Seeming a little more relaxed, he moved closer, leaning against the breakfast bar across from her and pulled an ashtray closer.

"' _Tis the prettiest little parlor that you ever did spy; the way into my parlor is up a winding stair, and I've a many curious things to show when you are there."_

He gave her the same, wide, perfect-teeth grin he'd shown her out in the hallway, and it momentarily stunned her once again. Judging by the way one side of his mouth lifted a little higher, he knew damn well the effect his smile had on women, and he wasn't opposed to using it to his advantage. She needed to be careful, there was more to him than met the eye, something dark and familiar there, lurking just beneath the surface. She shifted a little, letting her hand drop down to rest on top of her opened bag. She'd counted on him helping her up after her 'fall', so she'd stowed her pistol in her bag instead of holstering it at her back where he might notice. If she needed to, if he did something stupid, she'd have it in her hand and pointed at him in a heartbeat.

"I don't think I've seen you here before. Do you live here?" He took a drag from his cigarette, blowing the thick, cloying smoke toward the ceiling, gaze never leaving her.

"Maybe." She flashed her best smile at him, feeling as if she'd just entered some sort of flirt war with the guy without even meaning to. But, if it got her where she needed to be …. "I was looking at the vacant apartment down the hall."

"Yeah?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Leaning over the bar a little, she let her lip twitch with a suppressed smirk when his gaze drifted right down to her accented cleavage. "What do you think about these apartments? Do you recommend them?"

"Uh …" Whatever he meant to say got cut off by the sound of the door opening, and they both turned to look.

Jasmine slipped her hand deeper into her bag, wrapping her fingers around her pistol's grip. She didn't find anything to indicate he didn't live alone; only his name appeared on the lease, and the bills were all in his name, too. A turian appeared in the kitchen doorway, and it only took Jasmine a second to recognize Ares despite the prosthetics and paint.

Mandibles snapping against his jaw as his gaze instantly found and locked onto her, he snarled, and before she moved past the moment of surprise, he aimed a gun right between her eyes. "What the fuck are you doing here?" Voice full of malice, his mandibles clicked against his face as he flicked them.

_Fuck me._

She didn't say anything. Despite suddenly feeling  _very_ pissed off, she fought to cling to her role of 'Alexa', hoping Ares would take a hint and play along, clean up the heap of shit he just dropped at her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Charles push away from the bar, wide-eyed as he edged closer to Ares—the turian already moving closer to him, too. She blinked and relaxed her jaw, letting her lips part in shock and fear fill her eyes.

She raised her hands, moving slowly, showing Ares her empty palms. "I—I—I fell, outside." She shook her head and licked her lips. "I just came in for an ice pack. I don't understand …."

Glancing back at Charles, she gave him a look of confusion, using her eyes to plead with him to intervene on her behalf. She'd lost him, though. Permanently. Whatever the fuck went on there, the guy clearly trusted Ares' judgment completely. Ares put himself between Jasmine and Charles, which created a whole new mind fuck for Jasmine to consider another time when the turian  _wasn't_  pointing a goddamn gun at her.

"Cut the shit," Ares said with a growl. His gaze flicked back to Charles for just a brief second before landing on her again, aim never wavering. "What has she asked you? What have you said to her?"

"I … I don't know." Half his face visible from behind the turian, Charles licked his lips and shook his head. "We just talked about work …."

Irritated as all hell, she let out a loud scoff and rolled her eyes. "Oh, for fuck's sake. Put your gun away, I'm not here for you  _or_  him." Shaking her head, she huffed and narrowed her eyes at Ares, willing a hole through his thick skull. "Jesus Christ, I told you I might need him some time."

"Are you alone?" Ares' gaze bore through her as if he could stare her into telling the truth … as if he expected her to lie.

_That hurts._

Making her annoyance clear, she raised an eyebrow. "Can you be more specific?"

"Who the hell is she? What's …  _what the fuck_?" Charles' voice raised an octave or two at the end, and under different circumstances, she might've found it amusing. He jerked his hand out towards her and then at Ares' gun.

Growling and flaring his mandibles, Ares didn't acknowledge Charles' question, just kept his gaze locked on Jasmine. "I don't think I need to spell it out." Using his free hand, he reached behind him, and a moment later, Charles started backing up toward the kitchen door, Ares moving with him—letting him keep eyes on the exits  _and_  her with minimal effort. "You aren't one to work alone."

She clenched her jaw, gaze shifting pointedly to Charles. "Does he know you? I mean,  _really_  know you?" Unable to actually answer his question without compromising whatever identity he'd set up with Charles, she also really couldn't just  _ignore_  it while he had a  _fucking gun_  pointed at her. Jesus fuck, besides, did he really expect her to spill her guts in front of a  _civilian_?

Flicking his mandibles, they clacked against his jaw as he answered, voice low and growing as impatient as she felt. "Better than you do, now answer my fucking question."

Rolling her eyes, she didn't miss the movement as Charles stuck his hand in his pocket. "Ray's on the Citadel. He knows I'm working a lead, but not who or where." Christ, she wanted to slap Ares, and she swore to God, if Charles pulled out a weapon,  _someone_  was getting shot.

"And the other one?" Ares' words rode his agitated snarl through his mouth plates.

"Off on his own job," she said, clenching her jaw and blowing out a heavy breath, "now put the fucking gun away.  _Asshole_."

Ares gave Charles a chastising look and flicked his mandibles before holstering his weapon with a chuff. He remained standing between Jasmine and Charles, though, an interesting fact she filed away for later consideration. Seeming to avoid Ares' gaze, Charles stooped down and picked up the dog, holding her against his chest as he stood straight again.

"Thank you," Jasmine said, letting out a light huff, her mood already starting to shift. A slow smile crossed her face, and she softened her tone. "It's good to see you, too."

_But you're still an asshole._

Charles let out an exasperated-sounding sigh. "Will somebody please tell me  _what the fuck_  is going on here?"

* * *

Ares' arrival might've thrown a wrench in her plans, but things worked out even better. Forced to drop pretenses, she found Charles a willing participant in her quest for info on Werin Menoko. He didn't have a whole lot he could tell her, but he gave her enough to work with. Some of it she already knew, but she'd asked anyway to test the waters, making sure he spoke the truth. He even forwarded her a copy of his work schedule; her target, worked the same days as Charles, just on a different shift.

She stayed sitting at the breakfast bar, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two men as she hummed. The pieces fell into place, mind finally free of adrenaline making sense of the scene in front of her. Ares' reaction wasn't about her showing up unexpectedly, no, it was about her showing up at  _Charles'_ apartment in specific. That much she'd figured out pretty quickly. At first, she just assumed he didn't want to share a contact … or a toy, depending on how exactly he viewed Charles … but then she realized Ares actually had  _feelings_  for him.

Feeling like she'd unsuspectedly stepped into a minefield and only just realized her predicament, she sucked on her teeth and said, "Shit." She glanced back at Ares where he'd taken up residence leaning against a counter near the sink. "I seriously didn't know …."

Even though things mellowed out and they were being civil, it felt vital he understood she truly had no intention of showing up someplace she truly wasn't welcomed. It'd be like her walking into Geoffrey's and finding Ares' sitting at the dining room table. She'd have pulled a gun on him, too. Hell, she's damn lucky he didn't shoot first and ask questions later, which really seemed more his style judging from her experiences with him.

Ares shrugged. "I'll take it as a compliment."

Letting herself relax, dropping the cloak of an assassin's mindset for the time being—the best she could, anyway—she turned her attention back to Charles. She didn't trust him, of course—and really, why should she, they'd just met—but she did trust Ares. Mostly. If her showing up there damaged his trust, then maybe making nice with Charles would be a way to make repairs. "My name's Jasmine."

"Jasmine," he repeated, a solemn look on his face as he nodded. Clearly, he understood the weight of the confession. "It's nice to meet you."

"You, too," she said with a smirk and stood. Rounding the doorway to the small kitchen, she met Charles' gaze again as he shifted to face her, deciding to go ahead and answer a question he'd asked her earlier. "As for Werin … he moonlights as a smuggler. Drugs, mostly, but weapons, too." She looked at Ares. "Do I get to come hug you now, or are you going to pull your gun on me again?"

Humming, Ares pushed off the counter to stand up straight. "At least you asked." Giving her a jerk of his head, he stuck his cigarette in his mouth.

"Shut up, you love me." Grinning, she crossed the floor, passing between Charles and Ares for a brief second. She reached up, and Ares stepped into her embrace, his hands sliding around the small of her back. Resting her hands on his shoulders—because really, it was the best she could manage—she leaned into him. "I forgot how freakishly tall you are."

Charles let out a snort.

"And I forgot how freakishly small you are," Ares said, a low rumble vibrating through him and into her.

Grinning, she stepped back and waggled her fingers at his cigarette. "I'm not freakishly small; I'm compact and adorable."

He hummed and flicked a mandible as he righted himself, taking his cigarette from his mouth to hold out to her. She smiled, glad to see they were still on good terms, all things considered, and took the cigarette from his fingers. She took a couple of small drags, rolling the smoke around on her tongue before handing it back and turning to lean against the counter next to him. Charles watched them, a hint of jealousy in his eyes as his gaze moved back and forth between the two of them. He averted his gaze and pushed himself up to sit on the bar.

Glancing up at Ares, she smirked. "He's cute."

Ares snorted. "Cute?"

Drawing her brows in, she looked at him like he'd gone insane. "Yeah. Really cute. And with a smile like  _that_  …" She turned her gaze back to Charles. "… damn."

How the hell Ares could be banging the guy and  _not_  see how attractive he was, she didn't even begin to understand. But then again, there was a lot about the turian's personality she didn't quite get. Obviously, there remained a lot about her which he didn't understand, either.

Charles blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, thanks?"

"You're welcome," she said with a shit-eating grin, ignoring Ares' grunt.

_He's going to be fun. I can see why Ares likes him._

* * *

Jasmine convinced Ares and Charles to go to  _Le Bleu_  with her, which really wasn't hard to do. Admittedly, her intentions were twofold: she wanted to spend time with Ares, but she also wanted to get a better feel for Charles. He seemed nice enough—curious, but nice. She supposed it shouldn't surprise her, after all, he frequented ' _Assassins Unveiled_ ' which pretty much seemed like a site for assassin groupies. Well, and for assassins to pose as assassin groupies.

The way he watched her felt mildly unnerving sometimes, though, and she just couldn't quite put her finger on  _why_. Maybe it was just because he remained more or less an unknown quantity, and despite feeling like she trusted Ares, with Charles there, she felt outnumbered. Which, she guessed, she deserved considering the first time they met, Thane party-crashed and the second time, she sprung Isaac on Ares. He seemed more alert, focused, outside of his apartment and away from work. His gaze shifted every few seconds seeming to take in the ebb and flow of the crowd just as she and Ares did, though he wasn't nearly as subtle.

Once she'd made the connection, she couldn't  _not_  see all the little ways Ares made it clear Charles  _belonged_  to him. Everything from the proximity he kept to the man to where he'd encouraged Charles to sit screamed of a need to protect and a willingness to tear apart any threat to Charles. Which actually put Jasmine  _more_  at ease because it seemed Ares was willing to accept her as a friend and not a foe, allowing her to be near and interact with the man he loved.

"So … Jasmine … how long are you on the Citadel for? Is that a thing I can ask?" Charles watched her, eyebrow raised in question.

Shoving a fry in her mouth, she shrugged. "Until the job's done and I get told where I'm needed next." It wasn't entirely true. She already knew her next destination, and there was a damn good chance Ares would be going with her. She glanced at the turian before looking back at her plate.

"You don't even know how long it'll be?" Charles asked, voice carrying a hint of incredulity.

"Nope." She glanced at Ares again, wondering just how much of his world he shared with Charles. "That can't be much of a surprise for you?" she asked, turning her attention back to the man.

Shrugging, Charles shook his head. "Not really."

"She doesn't have as much leeway as I do," Ares said, holding a piece of bloody meat in front of him.

Charles picked at his fries, seeming to consider Ares' words before he asked, "So, you work for someone else?"

"Yep." She took a drink of her iced tea holding onto the glass for a moment. The questions were starting to make her a little uncomfortable, but she understood why he asked them.

"And they tell you who to kill?" He raised an eyebrow and took a bite of his cheeseburger.

_Seriously?_

Turning her attention to him fully, she blinked and put her cup down, gaze flicking over their surroundings. She looked back at him, her face a mask of complete neutrality and her voice dry as she said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Snorting, Charles looked at Ares and shook his head before glancing back at her. "Right … guess you're not as chill about it, either."

_Jesus Christ, are you fucking kidding me?_

"You can be assured that she's not likely to answer questions I wouldn't." Ares stuck a chunk of steak in his mouth.

_Or be okay with you talking about killing people while we're in the middle of the goddamn Citadel._

"Especially poorly worded questions in public." She bit into her cheeseburger, chewing as she watched Charles.

A part of her wanted to reach across the table and cuff the back of his head. Probably the same part of her that  _really_  wanted to go check out the warehouse where she killed Ryan Archer to see if it  _happened_  to still have any red sand laying around. Letting out an inward sigh, she pushed the thought away and turned her attention back to Charles. It wouldn't hurt—much—to give the guy something to slake his curiosity. She trusted Ares to keep him from running his mouth to anyone. Maybe then he'd shut up and eat, or at least talk about something else.

_Jesus Christ, I've turned into such a cranky bitch._

Taking a drink, she washed her food down before she said, "I don't pick my assignment the way he does." She scoffed. "I don't get paid as well, either."

"Although her pension plans are probably better," Ares added with a snort before taking a drink of his beer.

A bark of laughter tore through her throat, and she pushed hair back behind her ear. She'd left it down to help lure Charles in and forgot to pull it up again before they left. It annoyed the hell out of her while she ate, but she didn't feel like messing with it right then. "Probably. If I manage to stick around that long."

_Which I won't. I'm done. Soooooo fucking done with the Alliance._

"Don't like your boss?" Charles asked with a soft chuckle.

Channeling her inner Isaac, she bobbed her head and picked up a French fry. "Something like that."

Ares snorted but didn't say anything, just shoved more food in his mouth. She wondered if he thought she meant Isaac or the Alliance but it didn't really matter. He'd gotten along well enough with Isaac, so it didn't seem likely he'd be rooting for her to ditch her handler. The Alliance on the other hand ….

"How  _is_  work at Citadel Souvenirs?" She looked up at Charles again and smirked. "Maybe I'll quit and come work with you."

He scoffed and returned her smirk. "Shitty. But with your skills … I'm sure you could be running the place in weeks."

"No offense," she said, letting out a soft chuckle, "but I'm pretty sure I'd go stir crazy within a week." No way in hell would she be content working a customer service job, not to mention the pay couldn't compare.

_It'd thrill Thane, though._

"That's a bit optimistic." Ares finished off his first plate and shoved it aside before dragging the second one over in front of him. "I've seen the place. You wouldn't make it that long."

"Oh, ye of little faith." She picked up her glass again and leaned back, stretching her legs out to prop them on the chair between her and Ares. "I'd last  _at least_  a week." She chuckled when his only response was a dubious grunt around a mouthful of food.

"So, how'd you two meet?" Charles asked Ares, and damn it all if his eyes didn't light up every time he looked at the turian.

Humming and swallowing, Ares said, "Hot, young, singles dating site."

She snorted, drawing Charles' attention back to her, and she tilted her head a little as she looked at him. "The same way you met him. Just less fucking involved. At least, I assume there was fucking involved with you. He wouldn't say for sure."

Hopefully, adding in the 'less fucking' would help ease the guy's mind about her relationship with Ares. Sure, they flirted with each other, but it didn't  _mean_  anything, just for fun. She'd never slept with Ares and never planned to. Not to say the idea didn't appeal to her on some level, but she loved Thane, and he was all she needed. All she wanted.

After sharing a look with Ares, Charles grinned. "There was definitely fucking involved." He shoved a fry in his mouth and glanced at Ares again. "Still a lot of fucking involved."

She smiled, getting a kick out of the bawdy hint to Charles' personality, and shifted her gaze to Ares. "Good. Who doesn't love a good fuck?"

He flicked a mandible at her. "They'd have to be insane."

Laughing, she put down her glass and returned to her plate. "Yes, yes they would."

"Can I ask where you're from?" Charles' voice carried a hint of hesitancy as if he expected to be reprimanded again.

"You can ask whatever you want." Giving him a sideways glance, she shrugged. "But I may or may not give you the answer you want."

He huffed but seemed undeterred as he said, "Okay. Where are you from?"

Sitting back in her chair, she pursed her lips and studied him for a moment, taking his measure again. "You first?" She wanted to see if he was willing to give as much as he asked for, how trusting  _he_  actually was since he asked her to trust him.

"Ferris Fields." The corner of his eye twitched, pupils dilating a hair, skin flushing ever so faintly around his ears, and he shrugged.

Narrowing her eyes a little, she smirked despite feeling a little disappointed. "Liar."

Ares sighed and set his fork down, and she turned her head just enough to acknowledge him without taking her gaze off of Charles. "Don't ask something you aren't willing to give your own answer to," he said, exasperation making his gravelly voice deeper.

Taking in a couple of heavy breaths, Charles let the last one out slowly and said, "Shanxi."

She laughed and lifted an eyebrow. "Shanxi? No shit? And you're with a turian?"

_I guess it makes sense … what was it Ares said? He toured Shanxi and owed someone a dog? Aw. That's actually really sweet. He'll probably shoot me if I say it out loud, though._

"No shit." Charles reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, apparently uncomfortable with her reaction. He seemed to wear his emotions on his sleeve, broadcasting them loud and easy, so what was it about him that he kept hidden from her prying eyes?

Snorting, Ares hummed, and Jasmine looked at him. "And my father was in the war. What does that have to do with anything?"

Narrowing her eyes again, she watched Ares for a second before saying, "I can't tell if you're lying or not, but either way, you know damn well what it has to do with anything." She shrugged, tilting her head toward her shoulder and smiled. "Not saying I personally mind, I've slept with a few turians myself."

Chuckling, he flicked a mandible at her in a smirk. "I take it as a personal victory to still be able to have you guessing whether or not I'm lying about shit."

She grumbled and threw a French fry at him. "Shut up. Give me enough time, I'll have you figured out."

Letting out a soft sigh, she realized just how much she'd needed a relaxed night with a friend—a friend who  _didn't_  know she'd relapsed but probably wouldn't be hawking over her even if he did. A friend who  _didn't_  know she'd just lost a second mother but totally wouldn't look at her with pity-filled eyes either way.

She felt almost normal again.

"So, I answered." Charles raised an eyebrow at her, something about it seemed challenging as much as inquisitive.

"Earth." She pursed her lips. "You should know, the more you learn about me, though, the more dangerous it is for you." She glanced at Ares. "I trust him, and I'm willing to extend some of it to you," she turned her gaze back on Charles, "but you really should pick your questions wisely. As we've already said, I work for someone else."

Sitting back in his chair, Ares turned his attention to Charles. "She's right. Even if she chooses to lie to you, it's still dangerous because  _you'd_  think it's truth."

Charles dropped his gaze to his plate, picking at his fries while he chewed on the corner of his lip. Finally, he glanced back up at Ares. "Are you  _warning_  me or  _telling_ me to stop asking?"

"I'm warning you not to be an idiot." Pulling out his pack of cigarettes, Ares shook one loose and lit it. "You've known me long enough, know what questions I'll answer, so you know what's too risky to ask."

Charles let out a deep breath and pushed his plate away. Something about his expression tugged at Jasmine's heartstrings a little. He looked lost and deflated, and somehow, in the moment, he reminded her of Rift. She thought Ares probably didn't tell Charles all too much about his job, and she wondered if it made Charles feel like he wasn't really a part of Ares' life. She kind of understood; it'd always been difficult keeping the truth of her profession from Karin and the kids. It made her feel more like an outsider looking in than she ever did before joining the Phantoms.

Lighting his own cigarette, Charles took a heavy drag before saying, "Alright." A moment later, he looked at her again.

She took a sip of her tea and gave him a soft smile. "I tell you what … I won't lie to you. I'll just tell you I don't want to answer something if you go too far. Leave it at that, and we'll be good. Alright?"

He smiled and nodded, though it didn't seem heartfelt. "Alright."

"So, what's new?" she asked, turning her attention back to Ares.

He hummed around a drag off his cigarette and blew it out. "Broke a racist's arm."

She snorted and grinned, utterly unsurprised to hear his go-to news be something violent. "Nice. Too bad I wasn't around to see it. Care to share with the rest of the class?"

"Story's mostly his," Ares said, jerking his chin toward Charles. "I wasn't here for the start of it, just to finish it."

Charles took a drag, letting the smoke seep out from between his barely parted lips. "A turian friend of mine took me to a mostly turian gym to teach me fighting techniques. The owner fought in the war and has an issue with humans. Kept giving me shit, said the only reason he even let me be there is because I'm bonded to another turian."

_Bonded! Woah. Wait, what?_

Her eyes widened, and it took her a second to pull herself together. Holy shit. She did  _not_  expect to hear  _that_  come out of his mouth. Bonded? Wow. She fought the urge to gape at Ares, keeping her gaze steady on Charles, forcing her face back into a neutral expression.

He hesitated a moment before continuing, "So … anyway, he threw me to the mat one day after I smarted off to him and told me he'd make me and Ares his bitch." Lips barely twitching up in a smirk, something danced in his eyes, wistful and smug as he gave her a nonchalant shrug. "So, when Ares got back, I told him."

It took everything she had not to laugh her ass off, but she didn't even try to fight back the grin. Yeah, she liked Charles, even if something seemed off about him, and the blasé delivery of his story just made her night. Glancing at Ares, she lifted an eyebrow. "I take it you didn't just walk into the gym and break the guy's arm."

"Of course not," Ares said, sounding slightly affronted—which she felt pretty sure was a load of shit. "I gave him the chance to make me his bitch." He took a drag while she tossed her head back, no longer able to contain the laughter. Blowing the smoke out slowly, voice dry, he said, "I was severely let down."

When she got control of herself again, she wiped her eyes and sighed. "Why aren't  _you_  teaching him to fight?"

"I taught him what I could." Ares hummed and flicked ash onto his empty plate. "But there's only so much I can teach not only a human but one that's much shorter than I am. Cammus is much more suited to teaching him."

Jasmine detected something else there, some underlying thread which made his statement feel false to her. She'd been taught by someone much taller and much larger than her, and Cammus—assuming it was the Cammus who worked at Citadel Souvenirs—was as much turian as Ares. Not to mention, Charles didn't move as if he'd had any real training at all. So … why did Ares  _really_  want to entrust Charles' training to someone else?

_Maybe he's afraid he'll accidentally hurt Charles?_

"Cammus," she repeated and glanced at Charles, "your coworker?"

Charles just nodded.

"Hmmm." She studied him for a moment, noting the way he shifted under her gaze as if something about her made him uncomfortable, and yet, he didn't  _exactly_ seem afraid of her, either. "Might be easier for you to start with human techniques."

Ares let out a rumble of interest but didn't say anything.

Charles shrugged. "I don't actually know a whole lot of humans, my circle of friends is pretty small."

Glancing at Ares, she raised a brow. If Charles really wanted to learn and didn't have another human around to teach him, she didn't really mind helping out a little—if the guy could handle her working so closely with her. There wasn't a whole lot she couldn't show him. Obviously, she couldn't promise him anything extensive since she wouldn't be on the Citadel forever, but she did visit frequently enough. Ares shrugged at her unspoken question, tilting his head at Charles.

She let her gaze roam over Charles again, but he seemed too preoccupied with her and Ares' unspoken conversation to mind. "I can teach you a few things while I'm on the Citadel if you want."

"Seriously?" He leaned a little closer to her, a fervent look sparking to life in his wide eyes. "Just fighting?"

Not expecting the question, she raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking for something else?"

Glancing at Ares, he licked his lips before turning his attention back to her. "Whatever you're willing to teach me."

_Oh me, oh my, is he a spider or a fly?_

* * *

" _ **Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly, 'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy; The way into my parlour is up a winding stair, And I've a many curious things to show when you are there." - The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt.**_


	3. Haunting Whispers

**Haunting Whispers**

"Do you have something I can change into?" Jasmine asked, leaning against the breakfast bar in Charles' apartment.

She'd slipped away long enough to call Isaac and told him she planned to spend the evening hanging out with Nemos and would catch up with him later. The look in his eyes spoke volumes about the broken trust between them, but he didn't argue with her, just told her to stay safe and call him if she needed  _anything_. And, of course, by 'anything' he meant if she felt like she might slip up again and use. She'd given him a reassuring smile and told him not to worry about her, throwing in a teasing 'Dad' for good measure.

Charles wrinkled his nose, looking her over from head to toe. Finally, he offered, "Sweats and a tank top?"

She felt pretty sure anything else he owned would fall right off of her. Hell, the sweats would, too, if they didn't have a drawstring. He wasn't exactly a big guy, but he stood a lot taller and wider than her, for sure.

"Perfect," she said, giving him a smile.

Waving his hand, he started down the hall, and she followed after him. Taking in as many details about the place as possible, she didn't really see much of anything to indicate Ares made the place home. Which, of course, didn't mean he  _didn't_  stay there when not working. She stopped in the doorway when Charles opened the door to his bedroom; the room didn't have a whole lot, but it looked lived in. She realized she hadn't seen a single photograph of anyone in the place, making her wonder about the man's family.

Opening his dresser, he pulled out some clothes, and she moved closer to take them from him. "Do you want to change in here or the bathroom?" he asked.

She shrugged and tossed the clothes on his bed before sitting down next to them and unzipping her boots. "Here's fine." She glanced at him, taking in what he wore. "It's good you changed into sweats, too, but you should ditch your shirt if you're comfortable. It'll let me see your movements easier." Dropping her boots to the floor, she stood up again.

"Sure." Turning his back to her, he stripped off his shirt and started folding it.

Making quick work of the buttons on her blouse, she tossed it on the bed and started on her jeans. She watched as he put the shirt back in his dresser, and it brought a smile to her face. He only wore it long enough for them to go to  _Le Bleu_. Thane probably would've put it in the hamper, but she would've saved it to wear again, too. She probably wouldn't have bothered with folding it, though.

Eyes bugging for a second when he turned back around, he blinked, voice croaking a little as he let out a soft, "Uh …."

"What?" Pulling her pants off, she dropped them next to her shirt. She knew exactly 'what', but it amused her to no end to see his reaction. She forgot sometimes not everyone felt comfortable with nudity or other states of undress. It wasn't like she'd stripped naked, nor did she intend to be. Okay, yeah, her panties weren't exactly opaque, but she'd seen women wearing less on public beaches.

He laughed and shook his head before grinning and yelling back toward the living room, "Ares, your friend's in here getting naked."

"How else is she going to get changed?"

Jasmine chuckled, picking up the pair of sweatpants.

Snorting, Charles shook his head. "I could step out …."

"Why?" She pulled on the sweats, far too long on her, and sat down to roll the legs up. "You shy, Charles?"

"No … but, uh …. Yeah, I'm going to go in there now." He left the room, shaking his head, and she laughed.

Finishing rolling up her pants, she picked up the tank top and stopped for a second, running her fingers over her new scars. She'd showed them to Ares and Charles before they'd left for  _Le Bleu_ , and of course, Ares acted utterly unimpressed. She'd told Isaac she thought they looked badass, and she did, but … it did sting a little seeing them there. Letting out a sigh, she pulled the shirt on over her head and stood up, sweeping her hair up into a ponytail as she left the room.

Charles and Ares both sat on barstools seeming to wait for her direction. Ares had cleared the living room floor for them, much as he did when she and he sparred in her apartment the night she awoke in tears from nightmares about her mother's suicide. Admittedly, the way he handled the situation really helped to strengthen her bond with him. She moved out to the middle of the floor and started stretching, bending over and pressing her palms to the floor.

Looking up at Ares, she said, "You should put on something comfortable, too. You're not sticking to the sidelines the whole time." She smirked, fully expecting some back talk in one form or another. "I'm going to teach him a couple of things about turians, too." After hearing about the incident at the gym, she figured it'd be a good thing for him to know.

Ares hummed and grumbled but stood and headed for the bedroom. "Don't wait up for me."

Charles huffed, his gaze lingering on Ares as the turian disappeared before looking back at Jasmine. He didn't even bother to lower his voice when he asked, "He always just listen to you?"

She chuckled and gave him a wry smile. "No, of course not. But he knows I'm right. And I'm  _always_  right."

Laughter filling the air around him, he cocked an eyebrow. "That so?"

"Yep." She stood and pulled her heel up behind her, holding it for a few seconds before extending the stretch. Shifting forward to steady her center of gravity, she brought her foot up to her head, suppressing a groan at the pleasantly painful pull of tight muscles. She felt his gaze on her, but she didn't look up or say anything.

"What will we start with?"

"You'll show me what you already know." She switched legs, knowing Ares already had Charles do some stretches while they waited on her to get back to the apartment. "And then I'll go from there."

"I just know turian stuff, really." He shrugged when she glanced at him. "I mean, I've been in fights before, but nothing trained."

"Sure." Lowering her leg, she stretched her left arm behind her head. "You're … twenty-seven, right? Birthday's in a few days, isn't it?"

Wriggling a little on his stool, he seemed a wee bit nervous. "Yeah."

"I'd be surprised if you made it to twenty-eight without ever having been in a fight." She smirked and winked at him, trying to put him at ease.

It seemed to do the trick as he smiled and asked, "How old are you?"

"Almost twenty-six." She switched arms, biting back the urge to hiss at the dull throb and tug of scar tissue.

"You're still hurt," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmmm. Good observational skills. Those will be useful." After a few seconds, she dropped her arm and swung them both back and forth a few times, looking up at him again. "Alright, let's see what you've got."

* * *

He came at his training with determination, and he took criticism and redirection well. Charles seemed like a good student, and it kind of made her wonder for a minute if she never had to kill Leon, never spent time locked in a tiny room, never learned all the shit about the Alliance and Cerberus … would she someday be a handler herself, responsible for the training and guidance of fresh-blood Phantoms. The thought drove a blade between her ribs, angled right for her heart. She had no doubts she'd end up freelancing with Thane when all was said and done, but it wouldn't be the same. Not to say freelancing and being with Thane didn't have benefits, but with the Phantoms … with the Alliance … she felt proud of herself. Felt like she belonged, like she was  _a part of something_ , at least most of the time.

Letting Charles catch his breath, she backed away and stretched out her sore shoulder. Glancing at Ares, she jerked her head, gesturing for him to join her. Charles moved back closer to the breakfast bar and started stretching his own arms, clearing the floor. After finishing his cigarette, Ares walked over to Jasmine and gave her a questioning rumble.

She smiled up at him. "Just stand there and be a giant turian for a couple of minutes. I'm not going for contact."

He huffed, flicking his mandibles and grumbling. She gave him a playful swat and moved around him, gaze roaming over him as she cataloged his stature and unique characteristics. As she moved back to his front, her gaze snagged on something on his right forearm—something she felt pretty certain wasn't there when he stayed with her at her apartment during the Blackwatch mission. Backtracking to look again, she found Charles' name carved deeply into Ares' hide. Her eyebrow twitched, and she reached out, fingertips almost making contact before she caught herself. She'd seen his bite mark scars on Charles' shoulder, the sign of a bonding, but carving Charles' name into his flesh seemed insane for a number of reasons.

Looking up at him, she lifted an eyebrow. "Show me?"

He held his arm out to her but not before rumbling and flicking a mandible. She studied the letters, betting they were carved by Charles himself. Blinking a few more times, she let out a low whistle but didn't say anything. Schooling her features, she nodded before glancing at Charles again. There was  _definitely_  something more to the guy than what she already picked up on.

"Alright, so on a turian," she said, waving a hand at Ares, "you probably already know the most sensitive areas?"

_If not, Ares must be damn disappointed in the bedroom._

Smirking, Charles looked at Ares. "I don't know, what do you think?"

"I'm just acting as a giant turian at the moment," Ares said, the teasing quality to his subvocals making her grin as he shrugged.

Charles stuck his lip out in a pout. "You're no fun."

She snorted. "In a  _fight_ , specific to a turian: spurs, mandibles, crest, and as I said, talons. All highly sensitive and not especially difficult to damage. Turians— _most_ turians—will be in enough pain if you break their crest they won't even be able to see straight. Doesn't mean they won't still fight. Hell, they may even fight harder, but it'll give you more control. Mandibles aren't so easy to break, but they're easy to dislocate." She glanced up at Ares. "May I?"

He lifted a brow plate. "Are you asking to grab at my mandibles?"

"I'm asking to put my hand on your mandible to show positioning," she said with a smile, "no yanking, I promise."

Humming, he lowered his voice, dropping in a seductive quality turians seemed so good at, and with his scarred throat, it only added to the prickle across her skin. "Good, because if you were, then we'd be better off going to the bedroom." He bent down a little, turning the unscarred side of his face to her.

"Keep dreaming," she said with a snort. "In the meantime, still spoken for."

* * *

After running Charles through how to target mandibles, she moved on to the spurs, which led to some informative back and forth between her and Ares on the strategic benefits between breaking the spur off completely versus leaving it to hang to inflict more pain later. She'd been taught breaking it off completely hurt like a motherfucker, but Ares swore to leave it hanging and then target it again felt like hitting a knife still sticking out of your body. She guessed it made sense, and really, who better to know than a turian? After, they discussed the turian crest for a while. Despite his initial huffing and puffing, Ares clearly started to enjoy being on display and adding in tidbits of information to help Charles and Jasmine along.

Tugging on Ares' hip, she turned him, and he didn't even hesitate or grumble at her manhandling. "Their dicks may be inside, but they still have a nerve here." She pointed to his groin at the juncture between thigh and plates. "A good knee strike here will double them over." Glancing up at Ares, she waved him down, and he lowered himself without complaint. "Just as with a human, asari, batarian, drell, and maybe krogan if you're brave enough …." She traced the outline of Ares' ear on the side Charles could see.

"You know a drell?" Charles asked.

The question took her by surprise, but she didn't let it show or linger on the topic, just responded with a simple, "I do, and you'll not ask any other questions about him."

_Why is he curious about drell? Did Ares say something to him about Thane? I swear to God …._

"Ahhh … okay." Regret and wariness filled his voice. "Sorry."

"It's alright," she said and moved on. "Cupping your hands and clapping them over the ear canal creates pressure in the ear, if done right, it can rupture the eardrum." Cupping her hands, she swung them toward Ares' head but stopped before making contact.

Charles mimicked her, cupping his hands when she glanced at him, and she gave him a nod of approval. Reaching behind Ares, she put her fingertips against the base of his skull and then froze. He had a scar there. A very specific type of scar which could only mean one thing. Ares was a biotic. Her gaze flicked to his for a very brief moment, just long enough to make it clear she understood what she felt without drawing too much attention to the matter from Charles.

"They've got plates here, so it's not as effective as with a human, but the plates really don't add much protection. You see how this curves here?" She glanced at Charles, and he nodded. "A solid blow here, especially with something pointed, can cause a blackout." She dropped her hand and patted Ares' shoulder, and he stood up. "Butt of a gun, elbow … whatever."

"Any more turian anatomy lessons?" Ares rumbled, looking back and forth between Jasmine and Charles as he lifted a brow plate.

Smirking, she shifted her weight to one hip and crossed her arms. "Why? Is he bad in bed?"

"Him? No," Ares said, giving her a smirk, "but I would love to see what knowledge on turian anatomy you have in that head of yours."

"I bet you would." She chuckled and then sighed. She felt exhausted, but she didn't really want to go back to her apartment where she knew she'd just spend half the night fighting off the urge to find someone to sell her red sand. She really needed to get some sleep, though, letting herself get too tired made it harder to fight the urge to get high. "I've got to get back. I need to go over a few things and plan. I can swing by tomorrow, though, if you want?" She glanced between the two of them.

"Definitely," Charles said with a nod, and it brought a smile to her face.

"Sounds good." Ares rumbled and nodded, too. "We'll go eat somewhere that actually has decent dextro food. Maybe get shitfaced."

"Mmmm." She waggled her head a little. Christ getting shitfaced sounded good. Maybe  _too_  good. "Maybe on getting shitfaced. I'll see what Ray thinks about …. I'll let you know."

Ares snorted. "So, no."

"Don't be an ass." She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm here on work, remember? I have to be a responsible adult at least  _some_  of the time."

Nodding, he rumbled and let out a long, weary sigh. "If you have to."

Grinning, she patted him on the shoulder as she moved past him. "You should make time to come say hello while we're here. I'm sure he'd like to see you again."

He hummed, a hint of interest mingling with doubt in his subvocals. "I'll see what I can do once you have your work done."

"Oh." She stopped on her way to the bedroom and turned back. "Charles, do you shoot?"

Charles nodded. "I'm learning."

"Hmmm." She pursed her lips and turned her gaze on Ares. "We could take him to the arena?"

"Ask him," Ares said with a huff. "I'm not his mother. He can do what he wants."

Snorting, she dropped her weight to one hip. As touching as she found it for Ares to willingly allow let her be alone with Charles, she wasn't quite ready for it herself. "I"m not taking your … bondmate to the arena by myself, jackass." She rolled her eyes. Besides, she barely had enough experience in battlefield combat to keep herself from being filled full of imaginary holes. "Do you want to go?"

Ares looked at Charles, a question lingering in his eyes.

"I don't know what she's talking about." Charles shrugged.

Ares sighed. "The arena is a way to weapons test. Instead of shooting immobile, paper targets, you're firing on VI controlled programs that are firing back."

Understanding dawning in his eyes, Charles raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you mean Armax Arsenal Arena?"

Jasmine smiled and gave him a brief nod. "Yep."

"You want me to go into a combat simulator …." Doubt weighed heavy in his voice as he trailed off.

"Yep," she said, dragging the word out. She had pretty much the exact same reaction when Isaac told her that he intended to take her to the arena for the first time.

He glanced at Ares before shrugging. "Okay." He shook his head. "Just don't expect much from me."

Ares hummed. "We'll get you something to go in there with that's more than a shirt and jeans. It's not live rounds, but it'll still hurt if you get hit."

Snorting, Jasmine said, "I'm not allowed to go in with anything but street clothes." She glanced at Charles. "Don't worry, combat like that isn't really my cup of tea, either. But, it's fun."

"You use a rifle," Ares pointed out. "He does not. You can go in there with street clothes." Rumbling, he looked at Charles. "Unless you want to go in with a weapon you've never trained with?" He let out an amused thrum.

"Not really." Charles sidled up next to Ares and wrapped an around his waist. "But I do kinda want to know what it feels like to be shot."

Scoffing, she shook her head. "No, you don't." God, she  _never_  wanted to know what it felt like to be shot, but unfortunately, that ship already sailed. She glanced at Ares. "I don't  _only_  use a sniper rifle. It's just my favorite."

"You also have years of experience  _avoiding_  bullets when he just admitted to  _wanting_  to be shot," Ares said, voice dry. "So, no, he won't be going in wearing street clothes." He looked down at Charles. "You won't need armor but at least more protection than something like that," he said, gesturing at what little the man wore.

"What happened to you not being my mother?" Charles asked, grinning up at Ares, and Jasmine laughed.

Ares smirked. "If you really want to feel what it'll be like to be shot at the arena, I can go get my concussive rounds and show you right now."

_Pfft. Right, sounds like a fantastic idea._

Charles seemed to consider it a moment, and just when Jasmine thought for sure he would say nevermind, he casually said, "Okay."

_Wait, what? No._

Ares pulled Charles' arm off of him and looked at Jasmine. "Wait around for this." He headed for the bedroom.

"Ares? You can't be serious?" She called after him before turning to look at Charles. "Dude, no, don't do this."

He just shrugged. "I want to know."

"Jesus Christ." She rubbed her forehead.

Ares returned, adjusting the ammo on a pistol. "Pick a spot. Not your head …. I'm not dealing with you having a concussion."

Charles bit his lip, seeming to mull it over.

"You're both insane," she said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. At least they weren't using actual piercing ammo.

"Shoulder?" Charles asked.

She scoffed. "Not if you want to shoot tomorrow."

He held his hands out to the side, shoulders raised. "Well, where?"

Sucking in a deep breath, resigned to what apparently became inevitable the moment he agreed, she said, "Someplace fatty or muscular, not bone. Not your abdomen, it can break a rib or rupture an organ. I can't believe you're seriously—"

The bark of gunfire cut her off as Ares shot Charles' upper, left thigh.

Howling and doubling over, Charles' leg buckled, taking him to his knees. He cut off the scream, sucking in a hissing breath. "Motherfucker," he said, the word grinding out between clenched teeth. Rocking forward, he dropped his gaze to the floor.

"I told you," she said.

"You would've tensed if I waited," Ares said. "This way, you know what it'd really feel like."

As if tensing really would've made it hurt any less.

Jasmine started to make her way to him, wanting to make sure he was alright and help him up, but his head snapped up as she neared, staring her down. Something dark and insane roared behind those blue eyes, making her shift on reflex, and she just barely caught herself before falling into a fighting stance. Weary, she didn't move any closer. "Are you alright?"

He growled but nodded, pulling himself back to his feet. "Yeah … fuck that hurts."

Whatever she saw in his eyes seemed locked away once more, but she couldn't help noticing the slightly bigger bulge to the front of his pants.  _Obviously_ , the man  _liked_  pain. Suddenly, Ares' relationship with the guy, of all people, made a hell of a lot more sense. It also made a few more things about Charles make a bit more sense, like his burning desire to learn to fight.

Ares hummed, looking between Charles and Jasmine a moment before clicking on the pistol's safety and tucking it into his waistband. "Come on. Icing it will keep it from seizing up tomorrow."

She laughed, shaking her head as Charles limped over to Ares. "You're both fucking nuts." She turned and headed for the hall. "I'm going to go change my clothes."

* * *

Thane paid an asari ship captain to smuggle him onto Thessia so there'd be no documentation of his ever visiting the planet. Thessia, being the asari homeworld, had rather strict travel regulations, and very few aliens were allowed to visit. Those who did go to Thessia needed a good reason, and their movements about the planet were monitored. Something no assassin could allow.

In order to stay beneath the notice of Air Traffic Control, he purchased a second-hand skycar using a credit chit not linked to any account even tangentially associated with him. Once he completed his contract, he'd sell the car back to the same dealer for half of what he paid. It was a loss of credits, but it made no difference to him and proved the safest option. He took the skycar to Telathanda, staying as low to the ground as possible without drawing attention and avoiding the more densely populated areas.

Dr. Solus left it to him to decide whether to capture or kill Corlina, and the decision resting on his shoulders troubled him. Although clearly dangerous, it didn't seem to be Corlina's fault; something outside of her control altered her, forced her to become disconnected. Capturing her and turning her over to Thessian authorities created complications, risking his exposure and leaving the possibility the deranged asari might escape once more and hurt someone. Killing her, especially if he were to attempt to leave Thessia with her corpse, would be no easy matter, either. Both options required him to break religious laws of the people who lived on the planet, and that alone disturbed him greatly. Still, he'd accepted the contract because under no circumstances could Corlina be left to roam and create havoc.

The closer he got to the Telathandaian ruins, though, the less certain he became about any course of action. Dread filled him, starting as an itch at the base of his skull and moving down his spine until the muscles in his back and shoulders tensed and refused to relax. Weaving through the jungle, low beneath the canopy, light shifting to shadows and back again played tricks on his eyes, making him think more than once someone followed him, but every time he looked, he saw no sign of pursuit. When at last the trees began to clear, opening up into the ruins, he lowered the skycar on a slab of splintered stone.

His ears rang, a low, barely noticeable buzz of sound which set his teeth on edge. The scents of petrichor and ozone filled his nostrils, and the air felt heavy as if a storm approached despite the reported drought for the area and the clear skies. It made it difficult to breathe and his chest ached. Moving across the mossy mix of stone and soil, the buzzing grew louder the closer he got to the center of the ruins where the images showed Corlina's dig site. Dark and slimy, he almost felt the tendrils of corrupt noise sliding over his scales. His instinct told him to turn and run, but instead he pulled his battle sleep as tightly around him as possible and said his prayers.

The buzzing became whispered voices, just outside his range of hearing. Malevolent, ancient voices filled with hunger and a desire to reap. He couldn't make out what they said, nor where they came from. He only  _felt_  their cold indifference to the suffering of life deep inside his bones. The asari considered the land sacred, but he knew it must be cursed. Focusing on his breathing, he pushed at the voices, refusing them access to his mind as he cleared his thoughts and continued through the ruins.

The familiar sensation of spent eezo resulting from the use of biotics surrounded him, and he stopped, tilting his head to the side to listen. The voices prickled at his consciousness, but he pushed them aside again, sparing only a fleeting moment to fear whatever afflicted Sahnira and Corlina was also happening to him. The thrum of biotic energy gave him direction, and he started moving again, unholstering his pistol as he went. Staying to the shadows, he crept along the walls and piles of rubble, using them as cover to remain concealed from Corlina.

He spotted her, a whirlwind of biotic energy surrounding her, far more than she should even be capable of possessing. The blue flames picked up dirt and stone, flinging it aside, the hole she made easily three times as deep as what he saw in the images Dr. Solus showed him. The …  _thing_  she worked to uncover repulsed him on sight, his eyes didn't want to behold the abomination. He had no clue what it was, only that it felt  _wrong_.

Dark, metallic protrusions spread wide and outward like claws straining to burst free and claim the sky. Beyond his sight, something within the hole glowed with the brilliant blue-white of mass effect energy. The longer he looked, the louder the haunting whispers grew, yet he still couldn't understand a word they spoke. He pulled his battle sleep tighter around him and raised his weapon, calling out to the asari, some part of him still hoping to save her, "Corlina!"

* * *

Jasmine tilted her head back, letting the hot water rain down over her face as she held her breath, counting slow and steady in her head. It was a trick Karin taught her early on, something to help her fight her cravings, a way to take a break, so to speak, when they became overwhelming.

_Karin …._

The images from the police reports flashed through her memory, Karin's face so black and blue … swollen nearly beyond recognition. Furrowing her brow, she squeezed her eyelids tighter closed and shifted her face out of the water enough to suck in another breath of air. She trembled, though whether from cravings or grief, she didn't know.

She waited a few more minutes, and when the exercises to clear he mind just didn't work, she turned off the shower and stepped out. It only took her a few minutes to dry off and get dressed before leaving her apartment again. She'd promised Isaac if things got too bad, she'd go to him, and so she did. Stopping in front of his door, right next to hers, she rang the buzzer and wrapped her arms around herself while she waited. A minute later, he opened the door with sleep-filled eyes, stepping aside to let her in without saying a word.

"I don't want to be alone," she said, stepping inside. "But I really don't want to  _talk_  about it, either. Can I sleep here tonight?"

"Yeah, of course." He closed and locked the door behind her before heading toward the light coming from his bedroom. "Let me grab a few things, and I'll crash on the couch."

She followed him down the hall, chewing on her lip, still hugging herself. She stopped in the doorway, debating a moment before finally deciding it really couldn't hurt to ask. "Will you stay in here with me?" Her voice cracked, way too much emotion seeping through.

He froze in the process of pulling a sheet down out of the closet, his back still to her, and she just knew he'd say no. She'd crossed a line, she understood and didn't blame him at all. When exactly did she become such a fucking wreck? She really didn't understand why he didn't throw her ass back to the wolves the first time she fucked up. She parted her lips, just about to recant when he turned and looked at her, brow furrowed.

"You want me to sleep in here? With you?" Tone incredulous, his eyebrow made a slow climb up his forehead. "In the same bed?"

Embarrassed and for some reason utterly ashamed, she shook her head and fought back the tears biting at her eyes. "Yeah, that's weird. Sorry, nevermind. Just ignore me." She cleared her throat a little. "I can sleep on the couch, I don't want to kick you out of your bed."

He just stood there watching her for a moment longer, the weight of his gaze starting to make her uneasy and want to squirm. Finally, he jerked his head toward the bed and said, "I'll stay, lay down."

Swallowing against the knot in her throat, a tear escaped the confines of her lids and slid down her cheek, making her sniffle and swipe it away. "Thanks," she managed with barely more than a whisper as she made her way to the bed and kicked off her shoes.

Grunting, he moved to turn off the lights. "Just keep your hands to yourself and we'll be good. Scoot over, that's my side."

She snorted and slipped over to the other side of the bed, pulling the blanket up around herself and tucked in under her chin. "I don't know if I can make such a difficult promise," she said, lacing her tone with sarcasm and humor.

The bed dipped behind her, his warmth filling the empty space. "Uh huh. You will if you don't want to end up on the floor over there." He chuckled, tugging at the blankets. "Jesus, I don't think I've  _ever_  actually had a woman in my bed."

* * *

Despite his shit talking, Jasmine awoke to Isaac's arm slung over her shoulder, his warm chest pressed against her back, long leg draped over hers, pinning her to the mattress. Body shaking with suppressed laughter, a giggle slipped free when he tensed and then made the most amusing, near squeal of sound, quickly pulling away from her.

"Shut up. That didn't happen," he said, sitting up on the edge of the bed.

She rolled over, grinning at the back of his head as he swept his palm over his scalp. "It  _totally_  happened. But hey, at least you didn't have morning wood."

Reaching to the side, he grabbed a pillow and flung it at her face without looking, but it only made her laugh harder. "Bossman," she said between giggles as she pulled herself under control, "snuggling up to a warm body in the night is instinctual. I know it's nothing sexual, and I'm not even remotely bothered by it, so relax."

Putting his palm to the mattress, he twisted at the waist to look back at her, shaking his head. "God, why do I put up with you?"

Mood suddenly sobering, she sucked in a slow, deep breath. "I ask myself that every day."

He studied her for a moment, gaze seeming to look for something particular in her face. Letting out a sigh, he laid back, throwing his feet up on the bed and holding out his arm, waving her over. "Come here," he said.

Hesitating until he waggled his fingers again, she scooted closer to him, laying her head on his shoulder, body angled a little away from his. He shifted a little, folding his arm down to rest his hand on the top of her head. She expected him to say something, but he didn't, so neither did she.

After several, long minutes of silence, he sighed. "Sunshine … you've got a good heart, and I admire it about you. You may not always have your head in the right place, but who doesn't screw up from time to time? This last year has been a rough one for you. I get that, and I'm not holding it against you. I got you, alright? I  _got_  you."

Eyes starting to sting with the threat of tears, she sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Rolling over to her side, she tucked her arms in between the two of them. "Thank you, Isaac."

* * *

Jasmine eased the metal panel aside, peering down through the cracks into the warehouse portion of Citadel Souvenirs. She'd spoken to Charles earlier in the morning and knew both Cammus and Mahlia were at lunch, leaving him the only employee in the store for an hour. Still, she wanted to be absolutely certain the area was empty. She didn't see anyone, so she finished sliding the panel aside and opened her omni-tool.

Hacking into the store's security feeds, she began recording a five-minute loop. An empty room with no automatic equipment was the best for looping feeds, she didn't have to worry about any repetitive movements drawing the attention of anyone who might see the recording. Setting the security feed to play the loop, she lowered herself through the hole. The shelves were high enough and stable enough, she didn't even need to concern herself with getting down to the floor or getting back up once finished her job.

Moving on silent feet, she crept to the edge of the shelf and turned, using the side like a ladder to make her way down. Once on the floor, she took a second to orientate herself and then began scanning crates. She moved as fast and as quiet as possible, not wanting to give Charles any reason to even think about leaving his workstation. As a courtesy to Ares, she'd given Charles a heads up. Well, as much of one as she could afford, anyway. But it didn't mean she'd want him back there sticking his nose into things while she did her job.

As soon as all the crates were scanned, Werin's inventory located and cataloged, she climbed back up the shelf. Pulling herself back through the opening in the ceiling, she reactivated the security camera's normal feed and slid the panel back into place.

* * *

She waited for the salarian inside his apartment, quietly examining his things while she killed time. She didn't touch anything, of course, just looked. He had an interesting collection of weapons himself; everything from an asari huntress' sword to an HMWSR.

_Hmm. Spectre grade … he definitely shouldn't have that. Ohhhhhh, I want it. But stealing from the target unless it's part of the plan is a big no-no. Damn it._

Omni-tool vibrating against her wrist, alerting her to Werin's approach, she drew her pistol and screwed on the silencer. She moved into his darkened bedroom where she could track his movements from the shadows until ready to strike. She listened as the door opened, counting footsteps as the smuggler hummed to himself, a tired, sad tune which  _almost_  made her feel bad for what she intended to do. He crossed into her field of vision, dropping a messenger bag to the floor next to an overstuffed chair before heading into the kitchen. She didn't have eyes on him from her angle, so she strained to listen, picking up on sounds of water running and dishes clanking.

A few minutes later, Werin entered the living room again, carrying a bowl and a glass of water. Setting the glass on the table, he eased into the chair, folding his legs up under himself. He turned on the vidscreen, flipping through the channels before stopping on some documentary about the Krogan Rebellions.

Stepping out of the room, she slunk down the hall, and raised her weapon, taking aim at the back of Werin's head. Measuring her breathing, she squeezed the trigger on her exhale.


	4. The Time Has Come

**The Time Has Come**

Biotics faltering, Corlina's head snapped toward him, eyes eerily void of any emotion. There was no soul behind that gaze. He'd been mistaken; she could not be saved.

She opened her mouth and screamed, a high-pitched wail, the sound of the truly deranged. The whispered voices turned angry, battering at his battle sleep as the asari pulled her biotics back around her. Thane didn't hesitate, lining up a shot, he pulled the trigger but a movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to lose aim and the shot went wide. Black wisps of …  _something_  reached toward him from the depths of the pit Corlina dug as if the vile artifact intended to attack him as well.

Horror-stricken, he stood and stared, lips parting in preparation to implore the gods to make sense of what he saw. Before fully regaining his senses, instinct demanded he flee. He took a step back, heel scraping across the stone. Biotics hit him, flinging him against a crumbling wall of the ruins, nearly stealing the breath right from his lungs. Gasping and groaning, he rolled the moment he hit the ground, finding cover behind the same wall. Fear clawed at him, tattering the edges of his battle sleep. Pressing his back to the wall, he peered over the top, only to find Corlina returned to uprooting the artifact as if he'd never disturbed her work. Yet still, the tendrils of evil sought him out.

He stood, finding his courage again, and took aim once more. Steady and unwavering, he ignored the darkness moving towards him and shot the asari in the head. She staggered and collapsed, biotic energy flickering in and out around her as, even in her dying moments, she worked to move dirt and rock away from the artifact.

* * *

After having dinner with Ares and Charles at some place called Steel and Stone, they'd headed to Armax Arsenal Arena. Killing Werin did something for her, quieted the urge to use, at least for a little while. She'd found peace in that span of nothingness, in the place between exhaling and the death of her target, and she hoped to find it again in the arena.

Laughing and joking around with the two lovebirds helped some, too, but it wasn't like the weightlessness she'd felt when she'd pulled the trigger. She and Ares waited outside the changing stalls for Charles, having already applied their sensor nodes. Watching Ares out of her peripherals, she changed the ammo in her weapons over to the fake crap the arena provided.

He didn't say anything, didn't even bother to look at her, but she had a feeling he knew she watched him after a few seconds. Finally, the door to Charles' stall opened, and he stepped out, movements stilted and awkward, likely trying to adjust to the light armor Ares' got for him. She looked over the tall, lean man, wondering again about whatever it was she saw in his eyes the night before.

She still hadn't mentioned the ensuing hunt for Cerberus to Ares; learning of his relationship with Charles made her second guess her decision to include the turian, what with it being so dangerous. She had a feeling, if something happened to Ares, Charles would be set adrift, lost and aimless in the galaxy. She didn't know if she wanted to be responsible for that.

She holstered her weapons and crossed the floor to Charles, reaching in her pocket to pull out the earpiece she had for him. Turning it on, she moved a little closer and glanced up at him. "Bend down a little?"

He glanced past her, probably looking at Ares, before doing as she asked. She slipped the comm into his ear, chuckling at his cringe. She didn't like them a whole lot, either. But, Ares was right, they really did help to coordinate things in the Arena, and without them on the Blackwatch job, she'd have died on that rooftop.

"Just tap it when you want to speak to us," she said as she stepped back.

Fingers cautiously exploring the device, he said, "This is incredibly uncomfortable."

She grinned. "Yep."

"Stop bitching like two children," Ares said.

She was really getting tired of being called and treated like a child, but if he wanted to keep seeing her as one, well then maybe she'd act like one. Before the idea fully formed in her mind, she'd pulled her pistol, turned, and shot Ares in the ass. There was no real damage done, of course, she'd changed out her ammo and only the sensors registering the shot made him feel pain. Grinning despite his snarl and glare, she re-holstered her weapon. "You're not the boss of me."

"If you'd prefer, I can cut your comm and you fly alone." Ares' flicked a mandible. "I  _was_  going to offer you take the majority of the high ground, but if you're going to shoot us …."

She'd meant it to be funny, and yeah, reprimanding at the same time, but clearly, he didn't appreciate either intention. She fought the urge to narrow her eyes at him. Did he really expect her to back down from a challenge … a challenge which was so cocky it basically added insult to injury to begin with.

"Us?" She glanced at Charles, raising an eyebrow. "Did I shoot you?"

Chuckling, even though the look on his face made it seem she'd nearly given him a heart attack, he shook his head. "Don't think so."

Ares flicked a mandible and resumed checking over his weapons without saying anything else. Anger rolled off of him, and she knew she'd have to clean up the mess later. She seemed to be good at making messes with Ares. To be fair, he was pretty good at making them with her, too, she just didn't make as big of a thing out of it as he did. Well … she supposed that wasn't entirely true. Last time, she'd just beaten the ever living shit out of someone else, instead.

Retrieving her sniper rifle from where she'd laid it on the shelf, she strapped it over her back and rolled her shoulders. "Are we ready?"

* * *

The corruption found him. Vaporous, yet thick and strong, vines of death wrapped around him, grabbing a hold of his wrists and ankles, twining themselves around his chest and waist, twisting around his throat. He pulled and struggled against the abominations, but he felt his feet moving forward as if he were nothing more than a child's plaything.

Like a comm whose static finally cleared, the voices sounded loud in his ear. "The Harvest has begun. Submit. Your resistance will only bring you further pain."

Images forced their way into his mind. Enormous, dark, metal creatures creating devastating amounts of death and destruction. Fires consumed destroyed buildings, bodies of unknown species lay dead in the streets. Monsters roamed, ripping people apart as they desperately fought for their lives.

"The time has come. This cycle is complete."

"No," Thane said, pushing back against the voices and the terrible things they showed him.

Somewhere in the mix, Corlina's voice spoke to him from months past. " _I … I don't know how to describe them. They were enormous, and frightening … and beautiful."_

"No!" He felt his lips move, throat vibrating, lungs protesting with the force of air he sucked in and shoved out of him, but the sound of his voice never reached his ears.

* * *

She'd spent a good portion of her time flushing out targets from her sniper's nest, getting them lined up for Charles to take down. His training was supposed to be the point of their excursion, after all. Every now and again, she took a kill shot, just to feel that moment of reprieve from the itching in her veins.

When she heard Ares' command for Charles to change positions, she decided she'd done enough sniping for a bit. It was time for her to leave her perch and get into the thick of things. Moving from roof to roof, she slung her sniper rifle onto her back and traded it out for her pistol. She stopped to watch as Charles moved around a building, covering the flank as Ares told him to. If shooting at realistic targets bothered the man, he didn't let it show. In fact … he seemed to enjoy it every bit as much as Ares—as she did.

Attention focused down one side of an alley, he didn't seem to realize he'd left his back exposed. The VI, did, however. An asari edged closer to him, moving from cover to cover, probably trying to get within biotic range. Jasmine cocked her head to the side watching a moment longer as she decided on a course of action. Moving down a ladder, she dropped the rest of the way to the ground behind Charles.

He jerked and turned, pistol raised and moving to come into line with her. She reached out, blocking his wrist and knocking his gun away. His gaze found hers, and she grinned, lifting her own weapon to fire at the asari from over his shoulder. Charles glanced behind him before looking back at her, understanding dawning in his eyes. She activated her tactical cloak and took off down an alley without a word. She heard the last shot fired before the VI chimed, signaling the end of the round.

* * *

Pain wracked his body, doubling him over, threatening to take him to his knees but he fought against it. Unconsciousness loomed in the distance, and Thane knew, if he didn't find a way to break the artifacts hold over him, he would soon be lost to the same insanity he'd witnessed in Sahnira and Corlina both. Desperate, he dove for the memory of the woman who gave him hope and a reason to live.

"Siha, save me."

* * *

She spent half the next round on the ground, moving between shadows as she took out her targets. Each caress of her trigger relaxing something deep and dark within her—a thing that clawed at her mind while awake and dominated her dreams as she slept. She made a circuit of the arena twice, picking off lone wolves who strayed too far from the pack … too far from Ares and Charles' immediate attention.

Since Karin's murder … since her relapse, she'd felt out of sync with everyone and everything else around her, but there, in the arena as she put a fake bullet in the back of a fake salarian's head, things came back into focus. The galaxy was a big, big place, full of predators and prey. She was a predator, an apex predator, and she surrounded herself with others of her ilk. But that didn't make her evil; she didn't prey on the innocent and defenseless the way the men who killed Karin did. The way Leon did. The way Cerberus did. The way the Alliance did.

It killed some part of her, knowing the people she'd sworn her life to obey and serve, people she  _thought_  stood for good and just things could be involved in something so reprehensible … but the evidence was there. She'd paid Avalina to find it, and the asari came through. The time for hope and doubts had passed.

Finding a decent vantage point, she switched back to her sniper rifle. Eye to the scope, she spotted Ares and Charles, taking in the scene unfolding around them. Charles' voice came over the comm, warning Ares of a human moving in on his six, and Jasmine readjusted, finding the target and locking him in her sights. She breathed in, filling her lungs with warm, recycled air, and brushed her finger over the trigger as she exhaled. Peace. Beautiful, quiet peace, and the man's head exploded.

* * *

Thane fought to hold on to the memories of Jasmine's face, her soft, gentle smile and the warm caress of her fingers over his scales. The artifact latched on to them, pulled at them, tried to wrest them from his grasp. He would not— _could not_ —allow harm to come to her; the things the artifact said to him, showed him … he mustn't allow them to come to pass. He had to fight, for Jasmine and for Kolyat.

_Kolyat._

His son's face danced on the back of his eyelids, completely overwhelming him, and he collapsed.

* * *

Jasmine's cloak dropped as she wrapped her hands around an asari's chin and head, jerking to the side and snapping the simulated commando's neck. Letting go, she left the VI to register the asari's death and spun, drawing a knife from the sheath around her waist and flinging it through the air. The blade embedded between a salarian's eyes, ending the match. She wasn't ready for it to end yet, though, and one look at Ares told her the turian still had plenty of steam to blow off himself.

Retrieving her knife, she made her way to him. "Hey. How about we run through another match? I'll stick with Charles, you go do your thing." Tilting her head, she shoved her thumb back over her shoulder. "Tear some shit apart with your bare hands?"

Ares flicked his mandibles before pulling them in tight against his jaw, but he nodded to her before turning to face Charles' approach.

Flicking blood off her blade, she sheathed it and met Charles' gaze. "Ready for another match?"

He took a moment to look back and forth between her and Ares before nodding. "Sure."

"Great. You're going to stick with me through this one, cool?" she asked with a smile.

"Uh …." He looked at Ares again, and Jasmine started to wonder if the guy was capable of wiping his own ass without Ares' go ahead. "Okay."

Ares used his omni-tool to start a new match before heading off by himself. Listening to the VI run through its announcements, Jasmine checked her pistol over before nodding her head toward a half-ruined building. Without comment, she started jogging, listening to the sound of his feet slapping against the pavement as he followed behind her.

* * *

Thane blinked. He was walking through the jungle, Corlina's corpse dangling from his arms. But a moment before ….

"How …." He stopped, turning in a slow circle. Casting out a net to search his memories, trying to understand how he got there when it seemed only a heartbeat before he'd arrived at the ruins, he reeled in nothing.

Not a single memory.

It terrified him.

"Arashu, preserve me." He looked down at Corlina's face, violet blood dried along her cheek, still slowly dripping from the gunshot wound to her head. He didn't even remember pulling the trigger.

All he knew was he wanted nothing more than to rush to Jasmine's side. Which was precisely why, given the circumstances, he must keep his distance until he knew he could be trusted. He'd return to Omega instead, speak with Dr. Solus and have the doctor examine him. Thoroughly. If the doctor believed him to be of sound mind,  _then_  he would find his siha. And when he did, he must tell her everything, she must be warned.

_Warned of what?_

* * *

She sat sideways in her old booth at Chora's Den, back to the wall as she watched the dancers moving across the bar's surface. They'd been there awhile, long enough for her to nurse a couple of drinks, trying to remain mindful of her current state of vulnerability to intoxicating substances. She'd finally given in, sucked it up, and apologized to Ares. She didn't buy his 'it's fine' bullshit any more than she would've from anyone else, but she'd let it go, knowing him at least well enough to understand he wasn't exactly the 'talk shit through' type. Eventually, he'd unclenched enough for them to have a decent, relaxed conversation while he put away the horosk.

Letting her gaze roam the bar, a turian in blue armor caught her eye, and she backtracked.

_Garrus. Fuck me. Why tonight?_

_Shit, Ares doesn't want Garrus to know he's still alive._

Shifting her attention back to the dancers, she weighed out her options for a moment. The chances of the three of them getting out of there without being spotted seemed pretty slim, especially since Garrus had on that damn visor of his and appeared content to linger by the door. But maybe … maybe she could at least draw his attention away from Ares, give Ares a chance to get out without being seen. She couldn't really say anything in front of Charles, though. Despite Ares telling her that Charles knew him better than she did, it didn't mean Charles knew all of the  _same_ pieces of information about Ares as she did. Nor did it mean he  _wanted_  Charles to know.

Pulling out a credit chit, she tossed it on the table as she glanced at the two men and said, "I want to dance."

Sliding out of the booth, she didn't wait to give either of them the opportunity to respond. Adding a little extra wobble to her step, made her way to the bar and started climbing. One of the dancers caught sight of her and moved closer, smiling and holding out a hand to help Jasmine up. Not that she  _actually_  needed the help, but if she wanted her plan to work, she needed to appear drunker than she truly was. Throwing her arms around the asari's shoulders, Jasmine tugged her in closer, stupid grin plastered on her face, and started dancing, movements designed to draw as many eyes to her as possible.

Keeping her gaze on the asari, she watched the crowd in her peripherals. It only took a few seconds for Garrus to move into her line of sight, very obviously staring up at her, fluttering his mandibles in amusement. It was only a few seconds after when Ares lifted his glass in the air, tipping it in her direction. Good. He saw Garrus and understood. Not long after, he got up and disappeared into the crowd, leaving an alarmed-looking Charles alone at the table.

She fought back the urge to frown, not really understanding why Ares left his bondmate behind, but she wouldn't draw any undue attention to Charles if she could help it. So, she smiled and danced, body pressing against the asari's as her hips swayed, feeling half the eyes in the club watching her. Letting Garrus catch her gaze, she grinned and winked at him. Mandibles fluttering and flaring, his eyes widened a bit before his shoulders shook with laughter. A moment later, he moved on, making his way to a table where a couple of other people already sat.

A minute later, Charles made his way up to the bar and called out to her. She barely heard the 'Ramona' over the crowd, but she deliberately ignored him anyway, going with the flow of her charade. He moved a little closer and reached out, tugging on her pant leg as he called out to her again.

_So much for not drawing attention to him._

"Dance with me!" she said, turning her smile on him and holding her hand out. Her gut told her that he wouldn't dare, but if he did, she'd find an excuse to get down instead. With a little luck, he'd just leave her there and leave the club.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "I think we should get you home. Why don't you come on down?"

"Do I have to?" Huffing, she stuck her lower lip out in a pout.

_Come on, Charles. Take the hint and go._

"She wants to stay, let her stay," the asari said, her grip on Jasmine's hip tightening a little.

"She's got to be up early in the morning," he said to the dancer before looking back at Jasmine. Something in the tight lines of his face and the widening of his gaze pleaded with her, telling her that he was doing something he didn't really want to do, but he was determined to see it through. "Remember?"

_Ares told you to do this, didn't he? Alright, I'll play along._

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, she rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she said, squatting down in front of him and putting her hands on his shoulders. "Help me down."

Charles lifted her from the bar, setting her back on her feet and holding her steady as she deliberately swayed.

She grinned and tapped her finger against his nose. "Take me home, handsome."

His laughter betrayed a nervousness she doubted anyone else would pick up, especially over the noise of the crowd. But he was doing well, handling the situation with grace. She wondered what exactly Ares said to him before taking off. She let him lead her to the door, leaning her weight against his side and stumbling over her own feet.

Away from the thump of bass and halfway to the Citadel Rapid Transit stand, she glanced up at Charles, finding fear in the mix of emotions on his tightened features. He glanced around every so often, seeming to look for Ares, and every second he didn't find the turian, it seemed to make him tenser.

"He'll find us," she said, keeping her voice soft and low despite there being no one around to hear her. "Don't worry."

Meeting her gaze, he stopped to call a taxi. "You know what's going on?" he asked, voice just as low but drenched in worry and hope.

"Yeah." She shifted her weight off of him but stayed leaning against him, making it look as if he held her up. "But it's not for me to say."

* * *

Jasmine suggested they stop by a store and get something to drink, figuring Ares might need it after the close call and the tense day. She'd been right. The turian paced agitatedly in the apartment when they arrived, seeming far more disjointed than she'd ever seen him before. Cracking open a bottle of horosk, she moved close enough for him to grab the bottle as he passed by.

"Why was he there?  _Why_? Of all the places …." He drank and paced some more before coming to a stop in front of her, the crazy in his gaze making her hackles rise. "Did you know he'd be there? Is he still following you?"

Sucking in a deep breath, she balled her hands into fists, tracking him as he started pacing again. "I haven't been on the Citadel since I was shot, Ares. I haven't seen him since I've been back. He's a fucking cop, and we were in his jurisdiction. Fuck if I know why he was there. Maybe he was called in for something. Or  _maybe_ he wanted to blow off some steam, get wasted, and fuck an asari."

"No." He let out a quiet growl and shook his head, halting to swallow heavily from the bottle. "No, he can't go there. That's not a place for C-Sec …. Is he stupid? What the fuck is he  _thinking_?" He flicked his mandibles, taking another drink and bringing a hand to his forehead. "He isn't supposed to  _be there_  …."

_Alrighty then. He's either had way too much to drink, or he's gone over the deep end._

Not giving a fuck how derisive her snort sounded, she turned her back on him and made her way to the breakfast bar. "Yeah, well, I'll be sure to tell him that the next time I talk to him,  _if_ I ever talk to him again." Sitting down with her back against the bar, she opened the bottle of rum she bought for herself and took a big gulp.

_And so much for minding my intake. Sonofabitch, I went out of my way to make sure he didn't see you, and you accuse me of—what?—setting you up? And what the fuck is this about 'he isn't supposed to be there'? He's a grown ass man, he'll go wherever the hell he wants._

Charles made an attempt to soothe Ares, moving in close to the turian, worry and trepidation clear in his eyes. He definitely came across to her as high strung, and she idly wondered what happened in his life to make him that way. Ares let Charles wrap him up in an embrace as they talked quietly to one another, but it didn't last long before the turian pulled back, grabbing Charles' shoulder and shaking him a little as if in emphasis to the adamancy that Garrus simply  _did not_  belong in Chora's Den.

After a little more back and forth, Ares asked Charles to give him a minute. Agreeing, Charles suggested she join him out on the balcony. She gave Ares a wide berth as she made her way to the sliding, glass door. Just in case. She'd never seen him so rattled and didn't really know what to expect. Didn't entirely know where she stood with the turian.

Out on the balcony, Charles closed the door behind them most of the way and lit a cigarette. He offered her the pack, and after a moment, she decided why the hell not. She'd had one earlier, in Chora's Den. Might as well make more bad decisions, the night was still young.

"Is this why you got on the bar?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yep." She took a drag and exhaled before adding, "Figured if he was looking at me, he wouldn't be looking at Ares."

"Thanks." He leaned against the balcony railing not far from her.

Turning her head to look at him, she just watched him for a few seconds before nodding. "No problem."

It seemed like a genuine expression of gratitude to her, one clearly stemming for his love and concern for Ares—something Ares could use a lesson in. She thought about the conversation they'd had at Steel and Stone; Charles said Ares loved him, even if he didn't know it himself. Ares' ambiguous response seemed to shut Charles down, and she understood why. Ares just didn't seem  _capable_  of expressing that level of emotion—positive emotion, anyway. But she thought he was right.

They smoked in silence until she heard the shower start in the apartment, and the dog scratched at the door. Charles opened it a little wider, letting Eezo outside.

"For what it's worth …" She paused to smoke and look at him, seizing the opportunity with Ares outside of earshot to  _really_  talk to Charles. "… even if he doesn't say it, I can tell you mean the world to him."

He gave her a sad smile. "Yeah … I know." But he didn't really seem entirely convinced.

Humming, she turned her attention back out over the Citadel. "I don't think he lets many people in like that, you must be pretty damn special."

"I could say the same about you," he said with a dry snort.

She took a deep drag, slowly shaking her head. "Honestly?" Taking another drag, she let it seep back out of her. "When it comes down to it, I think he more  _tolerates_  me than  _likes_  me. But … it works for us. In our profession, it's even harder to trust another assassin. He took a chance on me, though, and he's helped me out quite a bit. More than what he probably even realizes." She chuckled. "He doesn't  _get_  me, though. And I keep pissing him off, so I guess we'll just have to see how things wind up between us in the long haul. Either way, I trust him not to betray anything I've told him, and I'll keep his secrets, too."

After a minute, Charles spoke up again, voice guarded but sad, "I don't think he always gets me, either."

"I bet he feels the same way," she said after a long drag.

"Why do you say that?" He turned, leaning his hip against the railing and watching her.

Arching an eyebrow, she asked, "How could you?"

Furrowing his brow, his jaw clenched before his lips parted, anger sparking in his eyes. Chuckling, she held up a hand and shook her head to stop him from blowing a gasket.

She licked her lips and pulled in a deep breath. "I don't mean it like that. I just mean … the things we know … the things we're trained to do, it permeates every aspect of our lives." Turning more towards him, she studied him, watching for a sign that what she was saying hit home. She didn't know why, but she  _needed_  him to understand. "We begin to see  _everyone_  we come across as a potential target, assessing how best to kill them with a single glance. We never go  _anywhere_  without being alert for threats. Our weapons are  _always_  within reach. We have to hide behind aliases and disguises so much that sometimes we start to forget who we really are."

Rubbing her fingers over her forehead, she took a second to collect herself and said, "All of our relationships—those of us who  _allow_ ourselves to have relationships—are built on a foundation of  _fear_. Fear that one day, someone will go after the people we love in retribution for a life  _we_  took." She shook her head, trying not to dwell on what happened to Irikah and the way Thane tortured himself for years. "And so much more I can't even begin to explain … add that to the shit he went through—I don't know what he's told you, and that's fine, I don't need to know, but it was bad. It'd fuck anyone up, make them harder for anyone else to understand."

Charles swallowed and took a deep breath. "I … I want to get him."

She gave him a soft smile and offered him the bottle of rum. "He knows. And it sounds like he's letting you  _get_  him as much as he  _can_."

"I fucked up," he said and then hesitated as if he wasn't sure he wanted to expand on the statement. Taking the bottle from her, he took a few swallows, seeming to look for courage in the liquor. "We got in a bad fight a while back, and I said some fucked up shit. I thought I'd lost him."

"He's here now." She took a drag, turning her attention back out over the balcony but watching him from the corner of her eye.

He rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair as he took a deep breath. "Yeah … I'm just terrified I'll get something wrong again." Oh, and he was. She heard it in his voice, clear as day, and it explained so much about how nervous he seemed with Ares at times.

"Listen," she said, turning to lean her hip against the railing so she faced him. "You can't do that to yourself. You can't do that to him. If you're spending every moment the two of you have together walking around on eggshells because you're worried about upsetting him, you're doing the both of you an injustice. Be true to yourself, be the person he fell for—because, honey, he carved your fucking name into his arm, so he's definitely fallen for you—and things will find a way to work out."

Charles scoffed, picking at his cigarette butt with his thumbnail. "Maybe."

"No maybe. Definitely." She grinned, reaching out and gently shoving his shoulder. "Don't you remember I'm always right?"

* * *

Waking up when she heard the bedroom door hiss open, she'd sat up on the couch and started gathering her things. She hadn't expected Ares to invite her to spend the night on the couch after everything, but she took it as a sign of him trying to mend things between them, so she'd agreed. Her head hurt a little, and she felt dehydrated, but it wasn't too bad. Despite everything, she didn't end up drinking herself into a stupor the night before. A miracle probably only brought on by her need to stay alert and aware of her surroundings, not entirely comfortable on their couch.

They'd all stayed up later than they probably should've, drinking and talking. Turned out the scar on Ares' head wasn't from a biotic amp but a dampener, and it gave him bad headaches. The giant vidscreen she'd noted in the apartment when she first met Charles was a purchase  _Ares_  made … after shooting Charles' old vidscreen—which Charles suspected Ares did for no other reason than to have an excuse to buy Charles a better one. None of it was especially important information, but they were little pieces added to the puzzle, causing the slightest of alterations to her perception of Ares.

Ares passed by her, giving her an acknowledging grunt on his way out to the balcony. After retrieving her shoes, she followed him.

"Hey," she said as she stepped out, slipping her jacket on over her arms. "I've got to head out. Check in with Ray. I'll be putting in an anonymous C-Sec report today about smuggling at Citadel Souvenirs. It needs to be before Werin's usual shift, so let Charles know they'll show up while he's at work?"

He hummed around a drag of his cigarette. "No."

"No?" she asked, curious but not passing judgment on his decision as she leaned against the railing next to him.

"If he knows to expect them, he won't act right." He flicked ash. "He's not all that smooth when it comes to hiding information."

She chuckled, turning sideways. "Fair enough. So, uh … I ended up talking to Ray about the shit with Cerberus. Long story short, we're going to be going after them. You mentioned wanting in on it if I decided to make the move. Still interested?"

Rumbling, he nodded and turned to her. "Just point me in the right direction, and I'll have at it."

Grinning she held up a hand. "I need to let you know first, it's not just going to be the three of us. Tannor will be involved, as well as a couple of his contacts and another guy who works under Ray. Are you going to be okay with that?"

He took another drag and returned to looking out over the Citadel. "I figured as much about the drell … but I'm fine with the rest so long as we keep me as just 'a friend'. No digging around."

She nodded, completely expecting such a request. Hell, they'd all probably say the same in regards to everyone else, too. "Sure. I'll make sure people know to leave you alone. One of the contacts who may join us is another drell who helps us gather intel, he's nosey, but he'll back off when told to. He wouldn't be doing much fighting, but he'd help us get through doors and systems faster. There'll be an asari, ex-commando. She's good people. They both are. I trust them. The other guy, I don't really like, but I trust him to do his job. He and I butt heads a little. They'll be coming in now that my job's over on the Citadel. I'll give you the chance to meet everyone in a more neutral setting before heading out."

He blew out smoke, watching as it dispersed in the air. "Sounds good."

"Good deal. I'll check back in with you later." She pushed off the railing. "Tell Charles I said bye."

"Will do," he said, not looking at her.


	5. Frightened

Frightened

Thane sat on the examination table, watching the salarian scanning his head. Three times, he'd recalled aloud for Dr. Solus the last half hour or so of memory leading up to the ruins. Each time he got only fractions further into the ruins before the memory disappeared, evaporating like a cool morning's fog, only to pick back up with him walking through trees, carrying a dead asari in his arms. The doctor seemed every bit as perplexed as Thane, suggesting many possibilities before dismissing them entirely with his next breath. Eventually, he'd fallen silent in his work, scanning, poking, and prodding without commentary.

Closing his omni-tool, Dr. Solus sucked in a deep breath. "Transcranial electrical stimulation used to increase ability to form memories in other species, possible to disrupt memories as well. No sign of transcranial electrical stimulation." Turning, he began to pace back and forth in front of Thane, shaking his head as he spoke. "No signs of ingestion, inhalation, injection of chemicals capable of inhibiting memory formation. No indication of traumatic brain injury. No inflammation or neurodegeneration." Slicing his hand through the air, he turned and looked at Thane once more. "Sounds you heard … technology doesn't exist, but possible … would need further test subjects to confirm."

"Are you saying the sound is responsible for my lack of memory?" Unsure of what to make of the doctor's supposition, Thane raised a brow ridge.

"Possibly." Dr. Solus shook his head, three, quick little jerks as if to add emphasis to what he said next, "Nothing definite. Other than damage to lungs already discussed, appear in perfect health."

The lack of solid answers quickly wore down Thane's patience. There was something wrong with him, and he needed to know what before he became a danger to others. With his skills, he'd hurt quite a few people before someone put him down. The mere thought of one of those people being Jasmine or Kolyat twisted his stomach into painful knots and tightened a vice around his throat.

Taking a deep breath, trying to loosen the tension robbing him of air, he asked, "Doctor, is there no way to be certain I'm not … afflicted with whatever drove Corlina to madness?"

"Can always keep you under observation." Dr. Solus lifted his shoulder in a twitch of a shrug. "However, behavior appears normal, thought processes lucid and rational." Shaking his head once more, he said, "No reason to suspect mental instability, but will prepare observation room if you'd like."

Thane seriously considered it for a few moments. Although he couldn't remember what happened, whatever it was, he knew it'd shaken him to his core. Jasmine needed him, though. She and Isaac were preparing to face Cerberus. The idea of not being beside her for such a battle didn't sit right with him. Then again, neither did going to her until he knew for certain he didn't pose a threat to her. After all, Corlina seemed perfectly normal at first, too.

"Perhaps …." He reached up, rubbing his forehead. "Perhaps it would be wise. At least for a day, just to be certain."

* * *

"Theodus …." Jasmine blinked again, jaw hanging slack. The last thing she'd expected when she opened her door to head to Isaac's was to see the albino drell standing there in front of her, finger raised toward the buzzer.

He grinned, dropping his bag at his feet and taking a step closer. Still in shock, she instinctively slipped a foot back, hand reaching for her pistol before she caught herself and froze. He'd registered her movements, though, she saw it in his blood red eyes. He held his hands up, showing his empty palms.

"Sorry, I—I just … what are you doing here?" She finally managed to get the question out but not without her brow furrowing. The sudden, unexpected jolt to her system made her skin crawl and muscles tighten, but worst of all, it triggered her cravings. Already, the little voices whispered their lies, urging her to make an excuse to leave Theodus standing there—after all, who the hell did he think he was showing up at her door unannounced?—and go find some stims or red sand.

"Ah." He dropped his hands, folding them together in front of himself. "I'd so hoped you'd be pleased to see me," he said, disappointment heavy in his sandpaper voice.

"I am!" Letting out an exasperated huff, she forced her posture to relax. She knew Theodus; he wasn't a threat to her. Probably. "I'm just surprised, is all. Did Malcolm ask you to come?"

"No," he said, letting the word drag a bit before a huge smirk snapped into place, "but I thought it might be more difficult for all of you to decide against allowing me to join you if I'm already here."

The smile helping to disarm her, she snorted and chuckled, finding her equilibrium once again. "Come in. I was just about to go see Malcolm, but I'll call him and have him come here instead."

Picking up his bag, he slung it over his shoulder before crossing the threshold, grin still on his face. He stopped in front of her—moving more than slow enough for her to stop him if she decided to—and brought a hand to her shoulder. "It's good to see you, Jasmine." He leaned in with the same, cautious movement and pressed his cheek to hers.

She'd seen other drell do the same on Kahje, and it appeared to be an affectionate gesture. It made her smile, and she brought a hand up to his shoulder, leaning into the touch before he pulled away. "It's good to see you, too."

"I don't smell another drell's venom on you," he said, looking her over. "Is Krios not yet here with you?"

Glancing back into her apartment, she shook her head and swallowed. She hadn't even heard from Thane since Lusia. She'd tried calling earlier that morning, but he didn't answer, and he didn't call back. She assumed he was just busy with his job, but still, she began to wonder if she wasn't going to have to make good on her threats to hunt him down and drag his ass back out of his battle sleep. "No … but I'm sure he'll be here before too long."

Theodus hummed, dropping his hand. "You're concerned for him, but I'm sure he's fine." He grinned. "In the meantime, I have you to myself, and I'm perfectly content with this arrangement."

She snorted, jerking her head toward the living room. "Have a seat. Want something to drink?"

"I'd love an espresso." He lifted a brow ridge, hope filling his eyes.

The request caught her off guard almost as much as his sudden appearance at her door. "You drink espresso? Seriously?"

He chuckled, heading to the couch. "You aren't the first human I've met." Glancing back over his shoulder, he winked. "I found I have a taste for it."

"Huh. Well, sorry, I don't have an espresso machine. I've got the stuff for a basic brew if you want, or I can see if anywhere around here sells it and will deliver."

He sat down on her couch, stretching his legs out in front of him and opened his omni-tool. A few seconds later, he glanced up again. "What would you like? My treat."

* * *

Isaac leaned against the fireplace, one elbow resting on the mantle as he looked over Theodus. Jasmine wondered if the drell saw what she saw looking at Isaac: the slight tension in his jaw, the widening of his pupils, the faint cock to his head as if he strained to hear something. Clearly, he felt less accepting of Theodus' unexpected drop-in than Jasmine, despite the smile etched onto his face.

"I'm surprised to see you here." Isaac tilted his head a little further. "I thought we agreed we'd contact you with our decision before making a move?"

"Indeed. And I eagerly await to hear from you about your decision." Theodus flashed his teeth in a grin. "In the meantime," he said, waving a hand at Jasmine, "I thought I might pay a friend a visit."

Nuh uh, don't bring me into this, damn it.

Isaac turned his gaze on her. "Did you invite him here?"

"Nope." She pulled her legs up, propping her heels on the edge of her chair, bringing her disposable cup of chocolate-flavored cappuccino closer to her chest. "He decided to come here all on his own."

"If my presence here is problematic …." Theodus trailed off, gaze shifting between Jasmine and Isaac.

"No. No problem." Isaac shook his head and pushed off of the fireplace, moving to sit in the chair opposite of Jasmine. "I'm just trying to make sure we're all on the same page." He looked pointedly at the bag sitting next to Theodus' feet. "Were you planning on staying here?"

"Oh no, not to worry. I've rented a place nearby." Theodus nodded toward the bag. "I was just excited to meet Jasmine in person, so I came here first."

"How'd you know where to find her?" Isaac sat back, lifting a leg up to rest his ankle on the other knee.

That's actually a damn good question.

Theodus smiled. "I wouldn't be very good at my job if I shared all of my secrets. I'm sure you understand."

* * *

Thane sat on the cot, legs folded beneath him as he meditated. Dr. Solus suggested the possibility of accessing more memories of the event with continued effort, so Thane intended to do his best to uncover anything hidden away in his mind. So many times in his life he'd considered his eidetic memory more of a curse than a blessing, but being made suddenly blind to his own actions and whereabouts left him completely unnerved.

Jasmine called him, but he couldn't bring himself to answer. He'd thought seeing her face, hearing her voice would weaken his resolve, but perhaps more importantly, she'd take one look at him and know something was wrong. He didn't wish to worry her until he knew whether or not there was something worthy of her concern. As soon as Dr. Solus either released him or decided it was necessary to hold Thane longer, he would call her and tell her ….

Sweet Arashu, what is it I need to tell her? It's there, just beyond my reach, I can almost see it ….

* * *

"I've spoken with Nemos, and he's in." Jasmine sat down at the table across from Isaac, not far from Theodus. "I told him there'd be a group, and he'd get the chance to meet everyone in a more neutral setting before we head out."

Isaac bobbed his head, opening his takeout container. They'd ordered in at Theodus' request. She'd suggested going out—she didn't feel up to cooking anything—but he'd hesitated, smile faltering. So, she added in the fact they could always order something to be delivered, and he visibly relaxed. She really wasn't sure what to make of him in person, he seemed a little more reserved than she'd expected, almost shy and nervous.

"Who's Nemos?" Theodus hummed, bringing his fork to his mouth.

"A turian friend. Sorry, but he's requested I leave it at that and insists no one pushes for more information on him." She eyed Theodus, a smile lifting the corner of her mouth. "He's kind of grumpy, too. So, when you meet him, please don't start asking personal questions."

"Where's the fun in that?" Lips twitching, he met her gaze.

"Theodus." She sighed, tilting her head down to look up at him through her lashes.

He smiled, picking up his glass of water and taking a drink while he watched her. "I'll behave if you answer a question for me."

Isaac chuckled, shaking his head and turned his attention to his food.

The attempt to bargain for intel on her didn't come as a surprise, but she'd learned how to deal with Theodus' prying. Pursing her lips, she said, "One question. If I can answer it, I will. Be kind." She wouldn't be surprised to learn he had an entire list ready.

He took a moment, probably considering his options before he finally asked, "When you were a child, what kind of life did you imagine for yourself?"

She pulled in a long, slow breath and propped an elbow on the table, resting her chin in her palm. "Not this one, that's for damn sure." She let out a soft huff, lifting the corner of her mouth. "I wanted to be a doctor. Thought I'd meet someone nice and get married, have a couple of kids …." She swallowed against a knot forming in her throat. It'd been so long since she'd wanted any of those things, marriage and children least of all. Yet, she'd fallen in love with a man who was already a father, but the chances of them laying down roots together to raise a family were slim to none. "I wanted to travel and see the galaxy, but I knew I'd settle down close to home—close to my parents."

Theodus seemed to weigh her response for a moment before he asked, "One more question? A follow-up."

"Sure." She figured she knew where the conversation headed, but she agreed, nonetheless.

"Why haven't you done those things?" His voice carried no judgment, only curiosity, and his gaze searched her as if he'd find the answers written on her face.

"My parents both died when I was a kid." She let the revelation sit a moment, watching regret and something painfilled cross his face. "I guess you could say it drastically changed my life course." Her gaze shifted to Isaac, finding him watching her with a hint of sadness tugging at the corners of his eyes, too.

"I'm sorry for your losses, Jasmine," Theodus said, drawing her attention back to him, "but I thank you for sharing them with me."

* * *

"Noted nothing of concern. Have work to do. If you want, can ask assistant to continue observation." Dr. Solus blinked, face void of concern as he shifted his gaze from his omni-tool to Thane.

Thane stood from his place on the cot and smoothed down his jacket. The feel of the supple leather beneath his palms helped to keep his thoughts from spiraling. He'd hoped to have answers, and coming up empty handed only reinforced his certainty that something was wrong. "Thank you, but no, I don't believe it will be necessary."

Dr. Solus nodded, the matter clearly resolved for him. "If concerning behaviors arise, return."

"Indeed. Thank you for your hospitality and your time." Thane dipped his head, tucking his hands behind his back. The urge to leave the sterile odors and harsh lights of the clinic propelled him forward, and he came to a stop in front of the doctor. "Please, let me know if you uncover anything of interest in the matter."

Stepping back out of the doorway—quite possibly to maintain distance between himself and Thane—Dr. Solus nodded again. "Within confines of doctor-patient confidentiality."

"Of course." Thane offered him a smile and left the observation room. "If you'll excuse me, I've kept someone important waiting." His heart fluttered in his chest, a mix of excitement and anxiety at the thought of calling Jasmine.

* * *

A knot of coiled tension unwound itself between her shoulder blades the moment she answered the call and saw Thane's face. She let out a heavy sigh. "I was starting to worry. Everything alright?"

He smiled, though something seemed a little off about it. "I've missed you, siha. I have some things I must talk to you about, in private, if you will."

"Of course. No one else is here right now. Oh, but Theodus showed up at my door, all on his own … so … that's a thing." Lifting her eyebrows, she smiled. "And Ares is already on the Citadel, so that makes life a little easier. I …." She stopped talking, narrowing her eyes as she really took in the strain on his face. "Thane, what's wrong?"

He took a deep breath and smiled at her, but something about it made her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. "I'm concerned I may not be well."

"Why, what's wrong?" She didn't wait for him to answer before throwing the next question at him, mind already racing through possibilities and some of her worst nightmares. "Are you having trouble breathing?"

"No, it's not that." He paused, lips parted but didn't say anything for a moment. "There was … I'm not even certain how to describe it … I have some missing time … no memories to account for what happened."

She knew his memory of the events after being stabbed on the Citadel were spotty, but he'd been seriously injured and slipping in and out of consciousness. She thought he'd have said so right away if he'd been injured, which meant something else happened. Something terrible enough to shake him, and Thane, of all people, didn't get shaken.

Blood draining from her face, she licked her lips. "How is that even possible?"

"I'm not entirely certain, and unfortunately, neither is Dr. Solus. It occurred while fulfilling a contract." He took a deep breath. His eyes, just barely visible behind the black lenses, shifted constantly, searching for something he didn't seem able to find. "Corlina escaped the facility where she received psychiatric care. She'd entered a part of Thessia where no asari was willing to pursue her, and she began using her biotics to unearth something in the ruins. I don't … I feel like I should know, but I don't. It's … disconcerting. I heard this sound … like whispering, almost, just beyond my ability to make anything out. I fear …." Lowering his gaze, he stopped talking for several, excruciatingly long seconds. "Siha, I fear whatever happened to drive Corlina mad has affected me."

Ice flowing through her veins, mind stalling out, she didn't know what to say. What to do. All she could think was it simply wasn't possible. She couldn't lose Thane. She just couldn't.

"I asked Dr. Solus to keep me under observation—I apologize for not accepting your call—I suspected it would be more than I could handle just then." He reached up, rubbing a hand over his face and pressing his fingers against his closed eyelids. "He insists I show no signs of this … indoctrination, but he cannot offer me any guarantees."

"If he can't find anything wrong, then …." She trailed off, not really knowing what to say. Obviously, he had a good reason to be upset, but if the doctor wasn't concerned, why was he so worried? She didn't understand, felt like she was missing something, and he was about to pull the rug out from underneath her feet.

Thane looked down for a moment, taking a slow, deep breath before meeting her gaze again. "Jasmine, I might be a danger to you."

And there it is.

"To Kolyat. My heart begs me to come to you," he said, and as if to emphasize the point, he placed his hand on his chest, "to be there with you, to help you with Cerberus … but, I refuse to put you at risk, so I'm uncertain if it's wise."

"Come to me, Thane," she said without hesitation, without a second thought, panic forcing her to her feet. The idea of him refusing to be with her threatened to send her down a never-ending spiral of self-destruction.

"Siha …." His tone said he didn't think she took things seriously enough.

Voice filling with the steel of command forged from dealing with far too much bullshit over the last year, she said, "Get on a ship right now and get your ass to the Citadel. Come. To. Me."

He bowed his head to her. "As you wish."

* * *

Thane hesitated only momentarily before ringing the buzzer for Jasmine's apartment. A few seconds later, the door opened. Flinging herself forward before he'd fully gauged his own response to seeing her, she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. His fear evaporated, and he pulled her in flush against his chest, rubbing his frills against her hair, breathing her scent deep into his lungs. His heart slammed against his sternum as if wishing to break free of his chest and make a home for itself within hers. He loved her. The very air he breathed, how could he ever be a danger to her?

"Don't you ever do that to me again," she said against his throat, her voice filled with a mix of emotions: grief, fear, and even a hint of rage. "Don't you ever even think about not coming back to me, I don't give a damn why. Got it?"

Bringing a hand up, he cupped the back of her head, holding her to him. "I could never forgive myself if something happened to you, Jasmine." He sighed, turning his face to kiss her temple. "But I am not strong enough to resist being at your side for long unless you were to tell me you wished for me to leave. I am yours, always."

Her entire body shuddered in his arms as she sucked in a deep breath. Pulling back, she slipped her hand into his and searched his gaze. "Come on. Come inside and tell me what happened."

Heading her urging, he followed her into the apartment, slowing just enough to engage the door's lock behind them. She led him to a couch, and he took a seat, opening his arm to her when she sat down beside him. He contemplated what to say as she moved in against his side, palm settling on his thigh. Where would he even begin? He knew he needed to tell her something important, but whatever it was, it continued to evade him. So, he supposed he'd tell her everything possible and pray his memory returned.

"Have the others arrived?" he asked, buying time as he ordered his thoughts.

"No, but they're on their way." She shifted, snuggling in closer against him, wrapping her arm around his waist and resting her face on his shoulder. "Talk to me," she said, voice soft and pleading.

Taking a deep breath, he began, "When I left Lusia, I first went to Omega. Dr. Solus summoned me to ask that I go after Corlina—as I said before, she'd escaped her caregivers. He left it up to me whether I killed her or returned her to Thessian authorities. I'd hoped to save her, but apparently, I wasn't successful."

His regret must've carried through in his voice, as Jasmine gave him a little squeeze and wrapped her ankle around his.

"I believe whatever she uncovered in those ruins is somehow connected to the orb, which seems to have caused the changes in Sahnira." Unable to keep from at least trying, he fell silent as he sunk back into the memory, holding it just close enough to him to watch the details unfold. "I recall arriving at the ruins and hearing some strange sound, like whispers with no source. I felt … tense, paranoid, even. I thought I saw things which weren't there …." He fell silent for a moment, fingers absently caressing Jasmine's shoulder, silk and warmth keeping him anchored in reality as he pushed through to where the memories disappeared. "… but then there is just nothing until I became aware again, returning to the skycar with Corlina's body."

"Just nothing?" she asked, grip tightening around his waist.

"Through meditation and exhaustive levels of concentration, I've been able to recover a few more seconds of time but nothing of value. Nothing to explain what happened, just memories of moving toward the ruins." Taking a deep breath, he turned his head to rest his chin atop her head. "The only possibility Dr. Solus hasn't ruled out is that whatever created the sound I heard somehow interfered with my ability to create new memories. Once outside of its field of influence, I was once again able to form memories. This isn't a certainty, however, and there is no way to prove or disprove this theory."

They both fell silent for a minute, but he almost felt the thoughts churning away in her mind. He knew Jasmine well, and she was a thinker. She picked at things, tore them apart and turned them over and over again in her mind. He knew he'd worried her, and he disappointed himself in doing so, but no way could he simply keep it from her. Not only might it be dangerous for her, but to do so would be disrespectful to their relationship. He never said it, but it'd hurt him when she'd started using stims and didn't come to him on her own for help. He forgave her, of course, and he understood the struggle—as much as he could, having no experience with addiction—but it'd hurt.

"Siha," he said, pulling away enough to urge her to look at him, "I feel as if something terrible happened there, something my very soul wants to convey to you … warn you about, but I just don't know what it is, and it terrifies me."

She held his gaze for a moment, his fear reflected back at him in her eyes. "It's alright. Whatever it was, you're here now. Safe. We'll … we'll figure this thing out, all of it."

An empty promise, he knew. Oh, not empty of emotion or intent but of possibility. He didn't see any way they might even begin to figure out what happened, save returning to the ruins on Thessia. Even if he'd allow such a foolish expedition, it seemed likely they'd both only forget whatever they saw while there. Though he knew it wouldn't stop her from trying, so he held no intentions of telling her precisely where the ruins were located.

"I pray you're right." He brought a hand to her face, cupping her cheek and soaking in her warmth. Wanting to change the subject before she pushed for more information, he asked, "And you, have you been well?"

She gave him a soft smile, turning her head to kiss his wrist. "I'm alright. I've been staying busy. No backslides into using, I promise."

"I—Well, this pleases me to hear, but it's not what I meant." He brushed his thumb back and forth over her cheekbone. "You lost someone very important to you, siha. This sort of thing takes time to heal from."

"I'm coping, I'll be okay." Her words came so matter-of-factly, he suspected it was a lie, and one she told herself as much as him. She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. "I should let Isaac and Theodus know you're here. Theodus is dying to meet you in person." The corner of her lip twitched up in a smile. "I get the impression he's a bit overwhelmed, though, being on the Citadel. Do you know where he's from?"

Deciding not to press—how could he when he'd just changed the subject himself—he dropped his hand and said, "I don't, but I look forward to meeting him in person as well."

* * *

Thane still felt … off, but he'd pull his wits about him enough to deal with Isaac and Theodus. Really, he wanted nothing more than to lay down with Jasmine in his arms and sleep until morning. Being back with her reminded him just how exhausted he truly felt. She'd talked while they waited, telling him about her outings with Ares over the last few days. It sounded as if she were putting her skills to use at the arena as well as enjoying leisure time, which she sorely needed. It relieved him to know she didn't spend all of her time alone, stewing in her thoughts.

She slipped free of his grasp when the buzzer rang, and he sighed, watching as she first checked the security feed before opening the door. Isaac and Theodus stood together just outside, and she turned with a smile, waving her arm toward the living room. Thane stood, tucking his hands behind his back and watched the other drell, curiosity and genuine excitement taking root despite how tired he felt. Theodus entered first, his gaze landing on Thane briefly before he turned back to Jasmine, greeting her by pressing his cheek to hers.

Isaac smiled and nodded, maneuvering around the other drell to approach Thane, hand held out. "Thane."

"Malcolm." Opting for the last alias he'd heard Isaac use with Theodus, Thane dipped his head and shook Isaac's hand.

Stepping aside, Isaac met Jasmine's gaze and jerked his head toward the kitchen. She smiled at Theodus, touching his arm as she walked away, following Isaac. Alone with Theodus, the two remained where they stood, studying one another. After several, long seconds, Thane tipped his head to the side and dipped it, effectively giving the man permission to come closer.

Theodus grinned, crossing the floor. "Krios," he said, coming to a stop in front of Thane. "It is so good to finally meet you."

Reaching out, Thane clasped Theodus' shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. "As it is you. And I suppose you've called me Krios long enough."

Theodus chuckled, dipping his head and gripping Thane's shoulder in exchange. "You honor me."

Lifting one side of his mouth in a smirk, Thane simply said, "Indeed." He turned, waving his hand at the couch. "I trust your trip went smoothly?"

Theodus allowed Thane to lead him over and took a seat, perching on the edge and folding his hands in his lap. "It did, yes. Thank you." Grinning, he gave his head a little shake. "I thought I was prepared to meet you in person after years of working with you, but I admit, you are far more intimidating within arms reach."

Thane chuckled, moving to a chair across from the man and sitting. "I have no reason to harm you, Theodus." Waving his hand at nothing in particular, he said, "You are safe with me; you have my word."

* * *

Jasmine writhed on top of him, tight, wet heat surrounding him. Flexing his fingers around her hips, he pulled her closer, tipping his head back to ask for her mouth, and her lips met his. Their tongues danced, and each breath pulled her scent deeper into his lungs, a magic elixir, washing away his fears. Whatever happened on Thessia, it was done, and he would not miss a moment with his siha because he couldn't pull his thoughts away from Corlina and the strange whispers.

Wrapping his arms further around her, he turned, flipping her over to her back and hitching her thigh up onto his hip. She moaned against him and nipped at his lip, lifting to meet his thrusts. He slid in and out of her, each movement building on the next as she tightened around him, driving them both closer to the edge. Fingers trailing down his spine, she gripped his backside, nails digging into his scales, urging him to drive deeper, faster.

A whimper escaped her, and she tore her mouth from his, tipping her head back into the pillows and exposing her throat to him. He scraped his teeth over the delicate skin above her pulse, and she cried out, body shuddering and spasming around him. He didn't slow down, despite the extra effort it took to maintain his speed against her involuntary contractions. The sounds she made, the feel of her so tight around him, breasts pressed against his chest, drove him onward, wanting to milk every last wave of pleasure from her before he could no longer hold back his own. Aftershocks rippling through her, panting in his ear, she held him close as he buried himself deep inside of her and found his release, calling out her name.

"The Harvest has begun. Submit. Your resistance will only bring you further pain."

Thane froze, body growing cold despite the warmth Jasmine poured into him.

"Thane?" She shifted, gaze undoubtedly searching for his, but he could only stare at nothing. "Hey," she said, rubbing her hands over his back and shoulders, "what's wrong?"

"I … I don't know." He turned his face to meet her gaze when she brought a hand to his chin, tugging at him. "My apologies. I thought I heard—I'm not certain."

She let his words linger for a moment, gently caressing his frills. "Did you remember something?" she asked, voice soft and sympathetic.

Sliding himself free, he shifted his weight off of her and laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in closer when she turned to her side to watch him. After a moment, he cleared his throat. "I think perhaps I have. Only a voice, one I don't recognize … doesn't sound entirely organic." Turning his head, he looked at her. "It said, 'The Harvest has begun. Submit. Your resistance will only bring you further pain.'"

Brow drawing in, forming tight lines across her face, she asked, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know." He shook his head, absently running his fingers over her arm. "Siha, I'm … I'm frightened."


	6. Daily Battles

**Daily Battles**

"Hey, come on in." Jasmine stepped back from the door and waved a hand in toward the apartment. She smiled at the serious set of Ares' expression, expecting as much. She'd asked him to come over first, before anyone else, even suggesting Thane go spend some time with Theodus or Isaac while she gave Ares the chance to look around and settle in. "Go ahead, do what you need to do to feel comfortable." Thankfully, Isaac seemed to understand her need to accommodate Ares' extra strong paranoia and didn't push for things to move along faster.

Ares hummed and stepped inside, looking around. Omni-tool active at his side, he probably ran a program to sweep for bugs, which was no real surprise. It said a lot that he showed up, ready to meet new people—people she vouched for—without the prosthetics. His hood, however, was securely in place. "What's with you and the Strip?"

Shrugging as she closed the door and made her way to the kitchen, she said, "Bossman picked out and paid for the apartment." She didn't ask for the Silversun Strip, but it's where Isaac seemed to gravitate. Grabbing a couple of bottles of water, she made her way back and handed him one. "When I'm on my own, I go for the quiet, little, hole-in-the-wall places more than anything else."

"It's so damn  _bright_ ," he hissed on the last word, stepping toward the hall, apparently intent on checking out the whole place.

"The Strip or the apartment?" She lifted an eyebrow as she leaned against the wall and called after him, "Because I can dim the lights in here if you want." She didn't bother to follow him, there really wasn't much for him to find, and she didn't think he planned to go digging through her stuff anyway. She listened, though, and watched from the hall as he moved from one room to the next.

"Both … but don't bother. I'll be seeing everyone in brighter light soon enough anyway if I join up." Finally returning to the living room, he closed his omni-tool and opened his water, taking a heavy swallow.

"Fair enough." She took a seat on the couch, watching him to gauge his level of ease. After butting heads with him at the arena and bearing witness to his meltdown post-Garrus at Chora's Den, she really did want to keep things mellow and neutral. She didn't think she had it in her to deal with any more drama … not without giving in to the voices whispering away in the back of her mind. "How do you want to do this? One at a time, or just call them all over?"

"The ones I know first. You can gradually let them come." He moved to the windows, looking out at the lights a moment before turning back to her. "I'll have to get used to them somehow, so what's the saying 'throw me right into the water?'"

She smiled and nodded absently. "Yeah. Sink or swim. Sounds like my life." Sucking in a deep breath, she let it out in a heavy sigh. "Not really sure which I'm doing anymore," she said with a softer voice, talking more to herself than to him. Opening her omni-tool, she sent a message to Thane and Isaac, asking them to join her and Ares at her place.

"I'm smoking in here," he  _informed_  her, walking to the coffee table and grabbing a decorative dish—which she supposed passed easily enough for an ashtray. Heading back to the breakfast bar, he sat on a stool, facing her but keeping his good eye angled at the door. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one, taking a long drag.

She snorted softly, finding his gruffness endearing despite herself. She didn't really mind if he smoked inside, after all, she'd allowed it at the last place, and they'd be shipping out soon enough. "Sure. Any questions before they start showing up?"

He hummed, seeming to think it over. "No. Go ahead."

"Bossman and Tannor should be on their way. I figured I'd make the introductions as 'Nemos' since that's the name you gave Ray. You'll need to call Ray by 'Malcolm' in front of everyone else."

"That's fine." Flicking his ash into the crystal dish, he rumbled. "Thanks for letting me know what names to use for them."

"Sure. Tannor won't have an issue making the switch from Ares. I've already spoken to the other drell, he's opted to use the same name I know him by: Theodus. Same with the asari: Avalina." Her buzzer rang and she put the bottle of water down, heading to the door.

Ares watched her as she went, rumbling. "You're forgetting the other human."

"Not forgetting." She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. "I like to call him Dickhead." She checked the security feed, spotting Thane. "You'll call him Mateo. Or Dickhead. Dickhead wins you kudos with me, but will  _probably_  cause problems." She glanced over her shoulder again to see his reaction, hand poised to open the door.

"You know me," he said, taking a drag and speaking as the smoke wafted from beneath his mandibles, "I love problems."

She grinned and chuckled before opening the door. Turning her smile on Thane, she stepped back enough for him to enter before wrapping her arms around him. "Hey, you," she said softly, leaning in to kiss him. She was worried about him, and even just the hour or so he was away, she felt on edge. With him in her arms again, still no signs of crazy in his eyes, she felt a knot in her chest relax.

"Hello, siha," he said, voice just as low when she pulled away again. Cupping her face, he brushed his thumb over her cheek before leaning in to steal another kiss. Tucking his hands behind his back as they separated, he turned his attention to Ares and cleared his throat. "Ares." He dipped his head a little deeper than he ever had to the turian before. "I'm told you prefer 'Nemos' for the duration?"

Ares blew out a breath of smoke, his good eye taking in Thane, relaxed yet somehow focused. "Yep."

"Very well." Thane studied him a moment. "You look well. I should thank you again for your aid with Jasmine's mission. I am grateful you were there to ensure her safety."

Fighting the urge to snort and roll her eyes, Jasmine settled for a smirk and headed back toward the couch. She wondered if Ares would ever actually take Thane up on his 'debt of gratitude'. God knew Thane meant every word of it, but she had a feeling Ares still thought it was crap, which was fine by her. Heaven only knew what sort of thing Ares might ask of Thane.

One of Ares' brow plates lifted, but his expression settled soon after as he gave Thane a slight nod. "Don't mention it."

Seeming momentarily confused, it took a second before Thane's lips quirked in a smile, and he dipped his head again. No sooner than he'd joined her on the couch did the door buzz again, and she climbed back to her feet. Activating the monitor, she made sure it was actually Isaac before opening the door.

After sparing a glance at Jasmine, Isaac flashed Ares a smile as he stepped inside and then crossed the floor, holding his hand out. "Glad you could join us."

Ares looked at Isaac's hand a moment, obviously out of his element as he accepted the handshake. "Can't pass something like this up."

Chuckling, Isaac backed up a couple of steps and sat on a stool—leaving one empty between him and Ares—at the breakfast bar. "What do you know so far?"

"That we're going for Cerberus and who I should be expecting to meet," Ares ground out his cigarette and lit another.

Isaac glanced at her, approval in his eyes, before turning his attention back to Ares. "Good. I'll give you the rundown, bring you up to speed. The place we're hitting first is on Gellix. You familiar?"

"I know the history of it," Ares said with a hum of curiosity.

Jasmine turned, making her way back to the couch to sit next to Thane. She glanced at him, offering him a reassuring smile—maybe to reassure herself more than him—before snuggling in against his side and turning her attention back to Ares and Isaac. Thane gave her a soft, throaty hum and kissed her temple.

Isaac bobbed his head. "We met with an old, turian couple following a lead Theodus gave us. The man was held captive there for a while, experimented on by Cerberus. He was born biotic, but his twin died at birth. They were trying to find a way to expand on or adapt the empathic ability of biotic-turian twins, and they had other turians there, too. His wife helped get him out of the place, but that was years ago, so we can't rely completely on the intel."

Ares took a drag, seeming to consider the new information before asking, "Are you wanting to infiltrate or destroy the place?"

Jasmine huffed, bitterness seeping into her voice as she said, "Salt the fucking earth. We'll go in quiet, see what we can see, but when we leave that place, it'll be a hole in the ground, in flames."

She saw Isaac and Thane both look at her from her peripherals, felt the weight of their concern as solidly as Thane's hand tightening around her arm. Neither of them neither chastised or argued with her, so she kept her gaze focused on Ares.

Ares' eyes glazed over a second before he let out a soft growl. "Make sure I'm out of there when you do that."

The corner of her eye twitched in a half wince. She'd forgotten for a moment how easily he could be pulled back to the memory of the trauma he'd endured at the hands of Blackwatch. She knew the apology showed clearly on her face, but she didn't do him the disservice of saying it out loud in front of the others. "Ideally, we'll all be out of there when it happens."

He nodded once, rumbling as he flicked his mandibles. "Then point me in the right direction."

"There are other facilities. You're welcome to join us for all of them, or pick and choose." Isaac gave a little shake of his head. "We'll be happy for whatever help you want to give."

Humming, Ares took a drag, holding the smoke in his lungs for a moment. "I doubt any work will match up, so I don't see myself leaving anytime soon."

_Thank God. We're going to need the extra guns._

"Good." Isaac leaned over, propping an elbow on the bar. "We're not going to go at this all at once, though. I want to make sure we all survive this. I'll know more after Gellix. Have a better idea of what we're going against."

"Sounds good." Ares nodded, and that seemed to conclude the conversation.

"Who do you want to meet first?" Jasmine asked after a few seconds.

He shrugged, flicking ash off his dwindling cigarette. "Doesn't matter. You know them and you know me. You decide."

She thought about it a moment. "Theodus might be best. He might take you a little bit longer to adapt to, given his personality."

"Indeed," Thane said, and Isaac chuckled.

"We've decided he  _will_  be joining us when we make our move," she said. "I'll send him a message now."

"I can't wait," Ares deadpanned.

Jasmine smirked, opening her omni-tool. "He's not one of us, so he's not going to think like us. Keep that in mind." She sent the message.

* * *

It didn't take long, maybe ten minutes, before the buzzer sounded at her door again. The time spent waiting was mostly idle chit-chat and long, awkward silences. Ares always became so closed off when it came time to discuss business, it made the intermissions almost painful. Standing up again, she made her way to the door, and after verifying it was Theodus, let him inside. Leaning in, he pressed his cheek against hers, smelling of coffee and something fruity, before stepping back again.

She snorted softly and led him into the room. "Best behavior," she whispered, despite the fact they both knew damn well Ares could hear her anyway. Still, it earned her a grin, so she added, "He  _will_  shoot you."

As they hit the center of the room, she came to a stop in front of Ares, well outside of arm's reach. "Nemos, this is Theodus. He'll be providing intel and hacking skills. We'll need to help watch his back in the field, but he's damn good at what he does."

Theodus smiled, bowing at the waist in a more human than drell fashion. "It's a pleasure."

Ares hummed, tilting his head to look over Theodus. "Watching your back won't be too difficult, but remember to keep your digging to the mission."

_Come on, Ares. I told you I talked to him. Jesus, don't get him started._

Smiling, Theodus tipped his head a little to the side. "That's the problem with working with assassins."

Jasmine gently elbowed him, giving him a stern look to shut him up before he started digging a hole she couldn't get his ass back out of. She didn't  _tell_  him that Ares was an assassin, he'd just made an accurate assumption, but she had a feeling Ares would  _think_  she'd told him. Damn it, two seconds in and he was already causing her trouble. She knew the more Ares groused, the more Theodus would want to push. What she didn't know, though, was whether or not Theodus seriously understood the danger of pushing an assassin face to face—especially one as brutish as Ares.

"Learn to live with it, then," Ares said, voice dry and blunt.

_Aaaannnnddd you just confirmed it for him. For fuck's sake._

"Oh, I have. I assure you. I work with quite a few." And with that, Theodus turned a little, looking at Thane with a smile on his face. "Tannor," he said, almost a purr. It was already a running joke to him, calling Thane by an alias, especially after having just been granted the privilege of using Thane's first name.

Thane chuckled lightly. "Theodus." The two of them seemed to get along fabulously in person, but then again, Thane knew how to deal with Theodus better than anyone else, having worked with the drell for years.

Ares hummed softly around his cigarette and glanced at Jasmine. His expression made it clear that he didn't believe Theodus, but he didn't say anything. Taking a shallow breath, she offered him her best reassuring smile. Truth was, she didn't entirely believe Theodus, either, but she prayed to God he was at least smart enough not to dig too deep and to keep whatever the hell he found to himself.

Theodus glanced back at Ares. "I'm told I must be on my best behavior with you, or you'll shoot me. Unfortunate. I can tell you have quite the story to tell. Perhaps someday you'll share."

"And perhaps someday I'll show you I have other ways of killing people besides shooting them." Ares leaned back on his stool and took a drag from his cigarette.

Jasmine suppressed the urge to wince and groan.

Theodus' grin widened, though. "I would certainly hope so, given the nature of what we're about to do." He held up a hand and tilted his head. "Rest assured, I've no intention of forcing your hand."

Ares hummed, clearly still unconvinced, but didn't speak. Jasmine gestured at the couch, thinking it was probably a good idea to put a little more distance between the two men and get Theodus' attention onto someone else. He dipped his head to her before moving over to sit opposite of Thane.

She remained standing, however, starting to pace a little as she opened her omni-tool and messaged Raúl. "Mateo will be here shortly."

* * *

Despite being surrounded by other people, most of whom he only marginally knew and didn't truly trust, Thane found himself unable to resist the urge to keep pressing at his memories, trying desperately to uncover just a few seconds more. He wished Jasmine would return to the couch and sit next to him. Her presence soothed him and watching her pace the room made it obvious to him that she was in need of soothing, too.

She didn't, though, not even when Raúl arrived. As Isaac left his seat to answer the door, Jasmine took up station next to Ares, leaning against the wall at his side. Her body language, though relaxed to the casual observer, appeared tense and ready for action to his eyes. It occurred to him that she still didn't entirely trust Raúl and was prepared to defend Ares should a problem arise. Thane set aside his idle thoughts and the pursuit of rogue memories, prepared to intervene on Jasmine's behalf should anything go awry.

It appeared he wasn't the only one to read Jasmine's tension, however. Ares didn't spare her a second glance—which also said quite a bit about his willingness to trust her—but his attention focused on the door with an intensity few would fail to notice.

Isaac led Raúl into the apartment, presenting him to Ares. "This is Jasmine's friend, Nemos. Nemos, meet Mateo. He's one of mine."

_Ah, good. Perhaps his claim will defuse any problems before they arise._

Raúl looked over Ares, gaze every bit as intense but somehow more apathetic. After sizing up the turian, Raúl lifted his head back in an upward nod. "Hello."

Seeming to make a point of looking the human over in return, Ares hummed. "Hello."

Raúl glanced at Jasmine, corner of his mouth twitching, but he didn't speak to her before looking at Isaac. "Anything else?"

Isaac smirked, giving the man a light shake of his head. "Take a seat, introduce yourself to Theodus, and play nice. Avalina will be here soon, and we'll all take a few minutes to clear the air and strategize."

Raúl looked at Jasmine again, raising an eyebrow, and she jerked her head toward a chair. Turning his back on the two, despite the tension thickening the air around them, he moved toward the seat. It occurred to Thane that the human held the same level of perfect trust in Isaac as Thane once did with Rah'kira. Raúl had nothing to fear,  _no one_ to fear, with Isaac also at his back. Ares watched Raúl's retreat, gaze never leaving the man until Raúl took a seat. Jasmine slowly deflated as if letting go of a pent-up breath.

"Theodus," Raúl said, glancing over the other drell, a subdued look of distaste in his eyes. "I see you found a way to ensure you join us on the mission."

Seeping with smugness, Theodus grinned. "I'm sure it's quite the relief for you, knowing your efforts can be turned to acts of brute force as opposed to stumbling blindly through Cerberus code."

"Do you even  _know_  how to hold a gun?" Raúl raised an eyebrow.

Resisting the urge to laugh, Thane brought a fist to his mouth, coughing gently into his hand before clearing his throat. He didn't know if they would all survive going against Cerberus—no one could  _know—_ but it became quite clear, if nothing else, the group chosen brought about interesting dynamics which promised to be equal parts stressful and entertaining.

Theodus chuckled, leaning against the cushion and folding his hands over his abdomen. "Certainly," he said, lifting one leg up to rest his ankle on the opposite knee, "but I find I prefer more intellectual pursuits."

"Fuck's sake, knock it off you two." Jasmine huffed, leveling a narrow-eyed stare at both of them, and it seemed to do the trick.

_A siha, indeed._

When Avalina arrived a few minutes later, she smiled serenely at Jasmine and embraced her before looking over the apartment. Thane pretended not to hear the faint hiss coming from Theodus aimed at the asari's presence. She didn't move away from the door, as Thane suspected, until she'd completely taken in everything there was to see from her vantage point. Jasmine waited patiently until Avalina met her gaze again and nodded. Together, they moved over to stand not far from Ares.

"Nemos, this is Avalina. It was her intel that proved the connection I was looking for with Cerberus," Jasmine said, her hand resting lightly on Avalina's shoulder.

Avalina nodded to him, tilting her head in the best approximation an asari might manage of the turian gesture, declaring them equals. Despite the respectful greeting, Ares remained obviously and unusually tense. Flicking a mandible at Avalina, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Still, it was enough to put everyone in the room on edge—save Theodus, who only glared at Avalina's back.

The situation left Thane torn. Avalina was important to him, and he'd be compelled to defend her should Ares attack. Yet, he worried how Jasmine might respond. Despite her petty complaints toward Raúl, he knew she didn't wish him harm, yet she'd prepared to fight against him for Ares' sake. Would she do anything differently with Avalina?

Jasmine shifted a little, broadcasting her uncertainty and sudden vigilance, and Thane's heart skipped a beat. After a moment, she put a smile back on her face and glanced at Avalina. "He's a man of few words." In the moment of stretching silence, as Ares and Avalina continued to stare at one another, Jasmine blinked and sucked in a slow, exaggerated breath, likely to make her unease clear to everyone present. "Okay. Well, Avalina, have a seat. Welcome to the party."

Avalina chuckled, but her gaze never left Ares. "If I'd known it was a party, I would've brought something more entertaining than my files."

Whatever the issue, clearly she interpreted Ares behavior as a potential threat. Thane considered standing, moving to her side, but feared doing so would be viewed as a challenge by Ares. He most certainly didn't want to find himself at odds with Ares. Although he held no doubts of his own ability to best the turian should the need arise, Ares remained important to Jasmine, and he'd helped save her life. And in so doing, made himself important to Thane.

Ares made a show of reaching for his cigarettes and lighting one without looking away from Avalina, but he didn't speak or even make a subvocal of a sound. Jasmine shifted again, turning with natural grace to put herself between Ares and Avalina. One hand guiding Avalina's elbow, she waved the other out at a chair. Finally pulling her gaze from Ares, Avalina turned her attention to Jasmine, smiling and offering her a nod before moving to the chair.

_Thank you, Arashu._

Glancing back over her shoulder, Jasmine said, "Nemos, will you join me in the kitchen for a moment?"

* * *

Giving her a disgruntled rumble, Ares put his cigarette in his mouth and stood. He kept his good eye to Avalina as if he expected her to charge him at any moment, not turning to fully face Jasmine until the living room could no longer be seen as they entered the kitchen. He hummed, a friendly enough sound, though his subvocals seemed strained as if it were a bit forced. "What?"

She studied him for a moment before, keeping her voice low, she asked, "Is there a problem with Avalina?"

He shrugged and took a drag. "She was too close."

Brow creasing, she cocked her head to the side. She didn't think she had Avalina any closer than the others. "Okay … what's a better distance? Are you going to be able to work with her?" She raised an eyebrow, a new thought occurring to her. "Do you  _know_ her?"

"No, I don't." He crossed his arms, and his subvocals buzzed with agitation. "Give me an order, I'll follow it. Give me a target, I'll kill it. But I can't guarantee I'll get all that comfortable with an asari."

Eyebrows twitching, Jasmine let her weight fall back to one hip, pressing it against the counter. She pursed her lips. "I didn't realize you had an issue with asari." Reaching up, she pinched the bridge of her nose, a headache starting to form behind her eyes. "I'd actually thought the two of you might work together to rig explosives, but … we'll think of something else."

"I can  _work_ with asari," he said with a huff, drawing her attention back to him, "but I won't be in their eyesight. I don't think she'll have much time to do that when we're on the battlefield."

' _Eyesight'? 'Do that'?_

Something niggled at the back of Jasmine's brain, some half-formed thought, but she slammed the door on it, telling herself it wasn't her business. If he wanted her to know, he'd tell her. Instead, she nodded, trying to figure out how the hell he thought he could work with Avalina  _and_  not be in her line of sight. "Alright. Just … do me a favor? Let me know  _before_  it becomes too much of a problem if it heads that way? Give me the chance to fix things?"

He rumbled, uncrossing his arms to take a drag. "I said I can work with asari, but the moment she tries any mind fucks, I can promise you won't have the time to defuse anything before I rip her throat out."

_Fantastic. Fuck, I'm probably reading too much into this. Besides, Avalina's not going to cause any problems. She's the most unproblematic out of everyone. Except maybe Isaac._

Breath rushing out in a huff, she felt overwhelmed by the juggling act the mission already required without Ares' issues. Maybe she was seeing crap between the lines that wasn't really there. Not  _everything_  she encountered with needed to be some goddamn tragedy. Fuck, she needed stims to deal with all the bullshit.

Licking her lips, hoping she was right and Ares was just overreacting, Jasmine said, "I don't think Avalina's the type for mind games. What are you expecting? Maybe a heads up to what to watch for?"

He growled softly and shook his head. "Forget it. I can stow it. I don't plan on making friends with them, just working alongside them."

She watched him for a moment longer, a writhing mass of snakes making their home in the pit of her stomach. "Alright. I trust you. Any other issues with anyone so far?"

"No." His tone switched from slightly agitated to terse, scolding almost. "Like I said, I know how to stow it and do the damn work."

She narrowed her eyes at him, irritated by his tone. Jesus Christ, she was trying to help make things better for him. "I don't doubt that. I don't doubt  _you_. Got it? This …" She waved her hand between them "... is how someone behaves when they see something up with someone they consider a friend."

Ares' mandibles flicked a few times before he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Look, an asari I  _trusted_  tried to force a meld on me. She got me when I wasn't expecting it, and I don't want it happening again." He dropped his hand. "Got it?"

_Fuck me. Why'd I have to be right?_

She swallowed, doing her best to school her features, knowing any emotional display would probably be interpreted as pity by Ares. Nonetheless, anger flared inside of her. She waited for a second, making sure heat wouldn't slip into her tone, before asking, "Is she dead now?"

"Yes," he said simply, leaning back to take a long drag. "I know it's irrational not to trust all asari because of it, but it's just what they  _do_. They all can invade your fucking head, and I won't trust one to get near enough to do it again." He took another drag. "I can cover her back in battle, but don't expect me to trust her out of it."

She nodded, taking a slow, deep breath to cool her inner rage. Despite his use of the word 'tried', the way he said everything else left Jasmine thinking the asari in question did more than  _try_  to force a meld … and that … well, it was basically rape. It was sickening and infuriating, and she knew damn well if something like that ever happened to her, she probably wouldn't be all too comfortable around asari again, either.

"I understand." She glanced down at her feet for a second, putting her thoughts in order. "I just want to make sure you know that my trying to make concessions for you isn't about doubting you or your ability to handle your shit. I just want to make things as good for you as I can because I give a damn what you think and feel."

He hummed, the sound thoughtful. "Appreciate it," he finally said, heading out of the kitchen. "Let's get back before I spread ash all over your apartment."

She chuckled, relieved by the change in focus and pushed off the counter, following him. Loud enough for her voice to carry, she said, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure Tannor won't let it sit for more than a few seconds."

"In that case …" He pointedly flicked ash on the floor as they joined the others.

She snorted, flashing a smile at an exasperated-looking Thane. As she passed by Ares, she slowed enough to bump her shoulder against his arm before taking her seat.

_No more problems. No more surprises. Please, people. Make this shit work._

* * *

"Hello, my son." Thane smiled, accepting the cup of  _cinuela_  from Jasmine as she sat down next to him.

"Father. Jasmine. It is good to see the both of you. I hope you are well." Kolyat closed the door behind him and sat on the edge of his bed. A light smile played on his lips, and he looked … good. He looked good. Happy, safe, and content.

"Hey." She shifted a little closer to Thane, cradling her own cup against her chest.

"Indeed, we are both well," Thane said, glancing at her and taking in the tired look to her eyes. Although they hadn't talked much about it, he knew she still struggled with restful sleep and the occasional craving. Turning his attention back to Kolyat, he asked, "And are you well?"

"I am. Quinlo is coming over in a little while, and we are going to watch the  _pa'ilente_ runs. I have considered participating in one soon." Shifting further up onto his bed, Kolyat tucked pillows in behind his back. "Quinlo does not want to try, though."

Glancing at Jasmine again and seeing the confusion on her face, Thane said, " _Pa'ilente_  is a game—sport, perhaps—popular among drell."

"We create obstacle courses for participants to navigate while blindfolded," Kolyat added. "The players are not allowed to see the obstacle course at all until it is their turn. Then, they are shown the course and given the opportunity to look for a few seconds before their eyes are covered. They must rely on their memory to maneuver through the course."

Jasmine's lips twitched in a smile as she brought her cup to her mouth. "Sounds easy for a drell."

"Not as easy as you may think, siha." Thane took a sip of his  _cinuela_. "Those who play are only given the chance to look, not move through the course, so our bodies do not remember where things are, we only retain an image … and from one angle, even."

She seemed to consider his words for a moment, blowing over the top of her cup. "Hmmm. Still … it'd be far easier for a drell than a human."

Chuckling, he conceded the point. "Indeed."

"If you decide to do it, Kolyat," she said and then took a drink before bringing the cup back to her chest, "you should see if someone can record it for us. I'm sure your father would love to see it, even if he can't be there. I know I would."

Warmth spread through Thane. Sweet Arashu, but he loved Jasmine. Setting his cup on the table, he shifted his arm, wrapping it around her shoulders. With her by his side, he dared to believe everything would, in fact, be just fine. "Indeed. I would love to see."

* * *

"How are you holding up?" Jasmine curled up in the chair next to the fireplace, pulling her feet up and tucking her toes down in between the cushion and the arm of the chair.

Geoffrey gave her a wry smile and took a deep breath. Letting the air seep back, he said, "It still hurts. I don't think that's ever going to stop. But, it's getting easier." He huffed, shaking his head and rubbing his hand over his face. "It's funny, sometimes I just … forget. I forget she's not here anymore. I wake up and put on the coffee, start making breakfast, and then try to pour two cups instead of one. Moments like those are when it hurts the worst."

Throat spasming, tears threatening to make an appearance, Jasmine let out a heavy sigh. "I'm so … I'm so sorry, Geoffrey."

"It wasn't your fault, kiddo." Shaking his head, he leaned back in his desk chair, the study no longer showing any signs of the havoc he created the day after Karin died … while Jasmine was out getting high and tracking down her murderers. "None of it was your fault."

Sucking in another shaky breath, trying to rein in her emotions, she brought her hand up, curling her fingers in against her mouth. "I know," she said around her knuckles.

" _Do_  you, though?" He raised an eyebrow, the familiar challenge to his eyes telling her that he thought she was being bullheaded and foolish.

_No._

"Of course. I just wish—"

"Jasmine, there was no way you could've known," he said, his voice that of a parent talking to one of his children, and it only made her hurt worse. "No way I could've known. Trust me, don't you think I've spent every night thinking about how I could've prevented what happened? How I should've asked her to just stay in. It was late, we had company, she would've listened. At the least, I should've insisted she carried one of my sidearms. Something. Anything."

The tears came then, silent testaments to her aching heart, left to stream down her face unacknowledged by either of them. "I'm not sorry I went after them."

"I know." He frowned, shaking his head. "And … I'm not sorry I asked your friends to stop you and take care of it instead."

She swallowed and nodded, lowering her gaze for a second. "I am sorry about the stims, though."

"We all have moments of weakness, kiddo. Karin always said, 'Addiction is a lifelong war made up of daily battles. Just because you lose a battle from time to time …'" He trailed off, waving a hand as he tipped his head a little in her direction.

The words brought an unexpected smile to her face. She could almost hear Karin's voice just then. " … doesn't mean you can't still win the war."

"That's right," he said, a smile slipping across his mouth. "So … are you winning your battles?"

"Yeah." Huffing, she ran her hand over her hair, smoothing down loose strands. "Barely some days, but yeah."

"I'm glad to hear it." He took a shuddering breath and added, "I know I'm no match for Karin, but I'm not completely clueless, either. You don't stay married as long as we did without picking up a few things from each other. I'm here for you, Jasmine. You start to feel like you're losing your battle, I want you to call me. Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

They both knew she wouldn't.

Silence stretched for a moment and then Geoffrey said, "Dry your eyes, sweetheart. The kids want to say hi to you."

By the time Geoffrey made it to the living room, she'd regained control and wiped her tears away. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself, not really knowing what to expect from the kids since she didn't really get the chance to prepare them for her departure, and she hadn't talked to them since.

"Girls? Rift? I've got Jasmine on call." He raised his voice loud enough be heard throughout the house, and it was only a matter of seconds before the sounds of urgent footsteps pounding down the stairs came across the line. He switched the call to the main vid screen, letting her see the full living room as the kids rushed in.

Rift stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her, tears instantly filling his eyes and crushing her heart. Jesus Christ, she was such a selfish bitch sometimes. How could she just vanish on the kid after everything? She fought like hell not to burst into uncontrolled sobbing. She was such a fuckup. She didn't understand why no one else around her seemed to get that and just cut her out of their lives.

"Jasmine, where did you go?" Rift finally asked, moving forward again to take a seat on the couch.

Sammy and Angela sandwiched him in, and Jessica perched on the armrest, leaning over the back. The girls didn't seem nearly as upset with her, but she didn't find that particularly surprising or hurtful. After all, she'd worked hard over the years to keep a little distance from them. Embracing them at arm's length, so to speak. Maybe she should've done the same with Rift.

She swallowed and gave him a light shake of her head. "Sorry, buddy. I had to … I had to take off. Things are really busy for me right now."

"For work?" he asked, something about his expression hopeful.

Closing her eyes for a second, she nodded, hating the lie she told with the gesture. She couldn't explain it to them, though. She just  _could not_  tell Karin's kids that she left because she was sneaking around to get high; she started shooting stims the day their mother died. Opening her eyes again, she licked her lips and said, "Yeah, things are about to be pretty hectic for a while. I'm sorry I haven't called." She let her gaze roam over all of them, Geoffrey included, and asked, "Are you guys doing okay?"

"I—I really miss Mom," Sammy said, eyes watering.

"I do, too, Sammy." Jasmine swallowed against the knot in her throat, heart stuttering in its rhythm as if the pain of seeing the kids again was just too much for it to keep up with.

Shaking her head, the girl quietly said, "Samantha. Mom … Mom hated 'Sammy.'"


	7. The Curse of the Soulless

**The Curse of the Soulless**

"Thane," Jasmine's voice, a gentle prodding against his consciousness, pulled him from meditation before her warm hands slipped over his shoulders from behind, caressing the scales of his chest. "Take a break. You're trying too hard."

He sighed, knowing she was right. Days of pushing, and he'd only managed to pull up flashes of the ruins and Corlina. Nothing more. She rested her chin on his head, and he reached up, rubbing his fingers over her cheek. Shifting, she slid around him and sat sideways in his lap. Cradling her against his chest, he kissed the top of her head as she leaned into him.

"Did you remember anything new?" she asked, voice soft and concerned.

He pulled in a deep breath, savoring the scent of her hair against his face. "Corlina … lying on the ground, my bullet lodged in her head, but somehow she continued to use her biotics to dig with her dying breaths."

She didn't say anything, leaving the soft hum of the ship's drive core to fill the silence, but she shuddered a little in his arms. By morning, they would be out of the Fortis System and traveling through interstellar space. It would take them a day and a half to make their way to Gellix. He had plenty of time to spend in meditation, but it was getting late, and he should sleep.

"What's the thing she was digging up?" Her voice, as much as the question, took him by surprise.

Running his hand through her hair, he sighed again. "I wish I knew, siha. Whatever it is, it's dangerous, and I pray no one else stumbles upon it. It's good the ruins are in an area of Thessia the asari won't enter."

"Why won't they go there?" She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand.

"The area is considered sacred." He kissed the top of her head again, wrapping his arms further around her. "It is forbidden."

She hummed and rested the same hand above his heart. "Do you … do you think the voice you heard, the one you remembered the other night, came from whatever the hell the thing is?"

"The time has come. This cycle is complete."

He remained silent long enough for her to shift, tilting her head back to look at him. "I've thought about it many times, and yes, I do." Clearing his throat a little, he held her gaze. "And every time I think of the voice, for some reason, it triggers a memory of Corlina on Omega."

"What memory?" she asked, curiosity and determination filling her gaze.

"When I asked her what my target showed her during the meld, Corlina said, 'I … I don't know how to describe them. They were enormous, and frightening … and beautiful.'"

"Christ," she said, face contorting with her cringe, "that sounds incredibly creepy."

"Indeed." Shifting his arms to support her weight, he pulled his legs beneath him and stood, lifting her as he went. "Let's get some sleep." He didn't feel entirely convinced he could sleep, not with the images of Corlina's dying moments taunting him—as much with what they didn't reveal as what they did. Laying down next to Jasmine, though, sounded better than sleep either way.

* * *

Jasmine wandered the ship, feeling lost and uncomfortable in her own skin. The things Thane told her about Corlina left a chill in her heart she couldn't quite shake, and it only made her crave the sweet escape of narcotics even more. She found herself headed toward the armory, and when she entered, she saw someone sitting at one of the weapons benches. She almost turned around again to leave them to their work until she realized it was Ares. Gently clearing her throat to announce her intention to approach, she stepped the rest of the way inside and let the door slide closed behind her.

Ares glanced over his shoulder, cigarette in his mouth, before looking back down at his work. "Can't sleep?"

"No," she said, grabbing a stool from a nearby table and pulling it over to the short end of the bench to Ares' right, keeping herself where he could easily see her out of his good eye. "You?"

"I'm used to not sleeping for long periods," he said, fiddling with what looked like a homemade scope.

Jasmine eyed the bottle of opened, orange Paragade sitting on the table next to him. She recalled Charles drank the same thing with apparent regularity. Ares didn't seem to be actually drinking it himself, though—which was probably a good thing seeing as the label read levo, and allergy or not, mixing chirality didn't always work out well for the person's stomach. She figured he must have it there because it reminded him of Charles—the same reason she kept Thane's shirt around—so she didn't say anything about it.

She watched him work for a few seconds and then asked, "What's keeping you up? Besides being used to not sleeping?"

"Being somewhere new." He took his cigarette from his mouth and flicked ash into an empty mug before sticking it back between his mouth plates.

She grunted a little in acknowledgment and brought her legs up to rest her heels on the stool, leaning back against the wall. She didn't say anything else, just let the silence linger. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she pulled them closer to her chest and focused on Ares' long, nimble fingers as they adjusted dials on the scope.

Humming, he turned on his stool and looked down the barrel of his rifle. A moment later, he lowered the weapon and took his cigarette from his mouth again, holding it out to Jasmine. Setting his rifle back on the bench, he said, "Most humans do more than watch someone clean a weapon, something about it being boring."

She let out a halfhearted chuckle, figuring it was really his way of asking her what was wrong. Taking the cigarette from his fingers, she turned it over in hers for a moment. Savoring the fact it was the first time he'd offered without her asking, she brought it to her lips and took a heavy drag. Holding the smoke in her lungs for a moment, she turned her face up toward the ceiling to blow it back out. "Most humans don't understand how important a clean weapon is, or how grounding it can be to maintain your firearm." Glancing at him, she took another drag and then handed the cigarette back.

He hummed again, subvocals declaring his agreement as he took the cigarette from her. Turning his attention back to his work, he popped open the heat sink compartment. "Need to get different sinks," he said, the comment seeming aimed more at himself than her, before turning his head to study her. "I can't believe I'm more entertaining than the drell."

She lifted the corner of her lip in a weak excuse for a smirk. "He's sleeping … and he needs it right now. Everyone's sleeping. Except for me. Well, and you. I can't—" She cut herself off and sighed, leaning forward enough to rest her chin on her knees. Inwardly cursing as he waited her out, she scrunched up her nose and said, "I lied. Not on purpose, but I lied to you and Charles when I said I'd been clean since seventeen. I relapsed not too long ago, and I can't get the … the itch out of my system." Huffing, she closed her eyes. "I think this is the first time I've called it a relapse out loud. Kept telling myself it wasn't really if I didn't use red sand."

He made a thoughtful sound, drawing her gaze back to him as he sat back to look at her fully. "I can't really offer much," he said, gesturing at the cigarette hanging out of his mouth. "What was it?"

She shrugged a little. "It's okay, I don't expect you to. Only one person ever really could …." She cleared her throat, redirecting her thoughts from Karin. "Stims. Videlicet."

He gave her a knowing rumble and nodded, taking a drag. "How long were you taking it?"

"Not long. Couple of weeks, maybe. Didn't want to sleep. Didn't want to dream." She chewed on the corner of her lip from the inside.

Ares nodded again, looking off at nothing before glancing her way. "Well, if you can't sleep, I'll be around somewhere."

She smiled, hugging her knees closer. "Thanks. It helps not being alone."

"Usually does," he agreed, moving back to his weapon.

After a moment, she said, "I think Ray has extra heat sinks if you need them before we get someplace you can get more."

He hummed and picked one up from the table without looking away from his rifle. "I mod my own …. I can do the same with what I got." He sat back and handed her the custom modded heat sink. "Just takes more work."

Accepting it, she turned it over in her hand, checking out the work he did to it, noting the slimness and lighter weight. "I'd be too afraid of having it blow up in my face to mod my own. Then again, it was never a part of my training."

He shrugged. "Wasn't really part of mine either, but when you have a lot of time not able to work while your wounds heal and have plenty of reason to be cautious, you learn things."

"Makes sense." She set the heat sink back where he picked it up from. "So … bonded, huh?"

"If you want to call it that," he said, looking up at her again.

She raised an eyebrow, curious. "What do you call it?"

He hummed, considering for a moment before he shook his head. "I don't know, but I can't call it something I don't understand."

She thought about it for a moment. Ever since the shit with her dad cheating on her mom before taking off and how her mom dealt with it all, she'd struggled to really understand marriage, too. Watching … watching Karin and Geoffrey started to put some things into a more positive perspective for her, but seeing Geoffrey fall apart after …. She thought what she learned, more than anything, was how completely it wrecked someone to lose their spouse. Hell, she needed only ask Thane about his time after Irikah for proof. So yeah, she didn't entirely understand why anyone would set themselves up for such heartache.

But then, she realized, married or not, it didn't really matter if you loved the person. She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, she'd be an utter mess if anything ever happened to Thane. And she felt fairly certain the same could be said for him if anything happened to her.

"You love him?" she asked, watching the little flicks and flutters of Ares' mandibles.

"That's another word that fits that category." Rumbling, he shrugged. "I trust him … and that's enough for me."

She hummed, wondering if it was really enough for Charles. Wasn't really her business, though. He was a grown man, if he wanted to deal with emotional detachment in the man he loved, it was his choice.

"Does he make you happy?" she asked after a moment.

Quiet, clearly digesting the word, he finally said, "I don't know." His response sounded completely honest even if a bit confused.

She nodded, accepting the answer for what it was. It didn't surprise her all too much. She'd met others like Ares in her life, people who life fucked over so thoroughly, they didn't know which way was up when it came to emotions anymore. It didn't take a genius to see he did love the guy, but an outsider always saw things more clearly than someone dab-smack in the middle of shit.

She smiled. "He looks at you like you're responsible for keeping the galaxy afloat."

He flicked a mandible, raising a brow plate. "What's with humans and metaphors?"

She laughed and dropped one of her legs to dangle over the edge of the stool. "Don't know. Just a thing we do."

"It's confusing … and I'm assuming it doesn't always translate appropriately when you use words that don't exist in turian." He hummed and put out his cigarette. "And it makes you all sound like asari soap operas."

She laughed again, fidgeting with a spare part on the bench which didn't seem to belong to Ares. "Never really thought about it, but I guess you're right. About the not translating thing. All I meant is he looks at you like you're the most important person he's ever met. Like he has complete faith in you. Like he loves the hell out of you."

Subvocals buzzing, he started putting his weapon back together. "He wants to come with me on jobs but doesn't understand why I tell him no. He's stupidly stubborn."

"Yeah … he and I talked about it a little." She abandoned the coil she'd been playing with on the bench and started picking at the hem of her shorts. "Hopefully, I didn't overstep my bounds, but it seemed like he needed someone to talk to …. I think he got what I meant, though." Shrugging, she glanced at him again. "Maybe it'll help."

"It's fine. You speak better than I do anyways about that kind of shit." He sighed and shook his head once before setting his weapon down to pull out another cigarette. "I tell him no, and he only gets upset. I don't like it, but I also hate him for it."

"Hate him for it?" Her eyebrows jumped up, surprise finding its way into her voice before she thought to check herself.

"He expects me to understand," he said, growling as he flicked his mandibles. "How am I supposed to understand it? We're different, and in more ways than species." Setting his rifle down, Ares looked at her head on. "He wants to know things even I don't touch, pushes at walls that shouldn't be touched."

She took a moment to process before saying, "Well … maybe he doesn't understand. Like you said, you're different, there's things you two are bound to not understand about each other." She rolled air in the back of her throat for a second, making a creaking noise while she pursed her lips. "You know he's terrified you'll reject him, right?"

He growled and flicked his mandible. "I know that the one time I let him in and got after him for abusing the fact, he started acting like prey around me. He acts like I don't know, like I don't see it, but he does it all the time."

"Mmm. Sounds like something else in his life taught him to respond that way, then. He'll probably move past it, given time." She had a hunch about what might've made Charles skittish. She'd seen the same behavior before in street kids who'd run away to escape abusive homes. It really wasn't her place to say anything, though. Besides, chances were, if she was right then Ares already knew.

"He seems … really interested in what we do." She knew Charles killed someone at some point, she all but smelled it on the guy. She'd mentioned it to him, too, to gauge his reaction one evening, and he didn't deny it. She assumed Ares already knew about it, too, probably even the details, but it really didn't feel wise to look too closely at the fact with Ares. Not directly, at least, with as protective as he seemed over Charles. "Not just curious, but … is he trying to break into the field?"

Ares rumbled, taking a drag. "In a way."

'In a way'?

"Well … would you rather he do it alone?" She lifted an eyebrow and raised a hand. "I'm not judging, just saying I get the feeling that stubbornness of his … he's going to do what he's going to do."

"I know." He exhaled a deep breath before taking a drag. "I don't care if he wants to become an assassin, I care he's an idiot about it. If he can't look me in the eye for fear he'd fuck up, he can't take someone's life for money."

She bit her lip, watching Ares in silence for a moment. "Whatever way it plays out, I hope things work out for the two of you. It's good you found someone who matters. Although—and don't hate me for saying so—but I almost didn't invite you along for this once I realized how much he means to you and you to him."

He lifted a brow plate. "Because you don't think I can do my job or because you don't think we'll succeed?"

"It's a dangerous thing we're going to do. You and Avalina, you two were soldiers, you've got more of the mindset for this sort of thing, maybe. The rest of us …" She shrugged again, turning her gaze out over the lockers and benches spread throughout the room. " … let's just say it'd be pretty foolish to not be prepared for us to not make it back out alive."

"I may not be Hierarchy anymore, but the teachings still apply. Not every soldier is guaranteed to make it out alive." He took a drag and growled. "Victory at any cost …. Even if this battle is of our own making."

"Yeah … I guess I've just seen enough broken hearts lately to not want to be—in any way—responsible for more." She huffed, tilting her head back against the wall and rolling her eyes. "I say as I prepare to slaughter people when I don't know what loved ones they may be leaving behind. Fuck, I don't know. My mind just isn't …." She fell silent for a few moments, staring at the ceiling.

Might as well tell him. What's one more sob story between friends?

"Ray and I went to Earth to go visit the turian contacts we told you about, but while we were there, we made some other stops. I went …." She swallowed, tears welling up in her eyes.

Fuck me.

"I went to visit the people who took me in off the streets, got me clean the first time." Sucking in a slow, deep breath, she held it a few seconds before continuing. "While we were there … Karin was murdered. Just a random, senseless, stupid act by junkies looking for a score. And what do I do? I relapse and go off to find the sons of bitches. Ray and Tannor followed me—Tannor killed them before I could."

Ares hummed, nodding as he took a drag. "Are you more upset you were going to kill them or that he did?"

She swallowed, meeting his gaze again. "I'm more upset she's dead, but … those were my kills."

"You're right, they were," he said, and something about hearing someone else say so took some of the sting out of the slight. He took a drag, flicking ashes. "But they're dead, and you weren't the one to kill them, so fill the space with destroying Cerberus."

She swiped at the tears pooling in her eyes before they made their way down her face. "That's the plan. I'm not really mad at him about it anymore. I get why he did it, but I'm lacking the closure, I guess. I'm more pissed off I let myself fall into old, bad habits to cope. She was … fuck, she was like a mom to me."

Stamping out his cigarette, he sat back on his stool. "Have you thought about actually letting yourself grieve?"

She blinked, not expecting that, of all things, from Ares. "I gave myself all the time I can afford. They took me into seclusion to sober up, and I did what grieving I could while there. I don't … I don't do well with grief."

"And yet, it wasn't enough." He sighed and stood up. Moving to stand in front of her, he reached out and tapped a finger at the corner of her damp eye when she didn't pull away. "You took stims to stifle the pain and you still do it now. Remembering someone is good, but not remembering how you lost them. It only drowns everything else out."

She offered him a wry smile, amused and touched by his acceptance of her vulnerability and attempts to help. "Maybe, but we're headed into battle now." She swallowed. "So, stifling the pain has to work. For now. And when we get there, I'll feed it to Cerberus. Shove it down their throats."

He rumbled, but stepped back and grabbed his rifle. "Don't wait too long … or you'll end up fucked up like me," he said as he headed for the door.

She watched him go, letting his words linger in the air around her.

* * *

"You asked me once why I didn't like you the second I saw you." Raúl sat his tray down on the table in front of her, next to Isaac.

She turned her attention to him as he sat down, cocking her head to the side as curiosity won out over her annoyance created by his intrusion. "Yeah …."

Isaac shook his head when Raúl looked at him and only said, "It's your call, man."

Picking up his fork, Raúl stirred the pile of seasoned strips of meat, grains, and diced vegetables on his plate. Clearing his throat, he finally spoke again, "I won't give you the details. I can't. But Isaac wants us to trust each other and get along. Especially since we're about to be out in the field together." He shrugged, gaze flicking toward her before returning to his plate. "This is the best way I know how …. So, the reason I didn't like you is that you look a lot like someone I used to know. Older than she was, but not enough to matter. She was my daughter's best friend." He paused, staring at his food, jaw clenching and then relaxing only to clench again. The grip on his fork started to drain the color from his knuckles. Several seconds passed before he continued, "Her father killed my daughter, so I killed him. When I look at you, I see her."

Fuck me.

Stunned, Jasmine sank back in her chair. She must've just sat there staring at Raúl, utterly speechless for a solid minute. What the fuck could she say to that?

"This is stupid," he said, grabbing his tray and standing. "I don't know why I thought you'd understand." He started to turn away.

"Wait," she said. "Just … wait a minute. Give me a second to process. I've had a lot of surprises and bullshit thrown my way lately, and I've surpassed my socially-appropriate, quick response time allotment for the year."

Isaac let out a soft chuckle. "You're alright, Sunshine, take your time." He waved his fork at the empty seat next to him and looked up at Raúl. "Sit down, give her a minute, she's not trying to brush you off, it's not her style."

With apparent reluctance, Raúl returned to his seat, settling the tray back on the table. He watched her, stoicism smoothing his features, and she realized it must be as much of a defense mechanism as her well-practiced smile. Taking a deep breath, she leaned forward again.

"I'm really sorry to hear about your daughter." She licked her lips. "I can't blame you for not being comfortable around me, considering. I've lost people—someone recently, actually—and it fucking hurts, but I can't even begin to imagine the pain of losing a child."

Raúl lowered his gaze, staring blankly at his plate. He swallowed and looked up at her again, eyes looking a little wetter. "It's in the past, not something anyone can change now. Your condolences are appreciated, and I'm sorry to hear you've lost someone recently, too. If this thing is going to work, though, it needs to go both ways."

Nodding, she sucked in a deep breath, thinking back to their conversations on Ferris Fields. "You want to know why I killed Leon," she said, nodding again. "I'm sure you've pieced enough together to figure out despite the evidence of our past romantic involvement and his crazy-ass obsession, my reasons for killing him had nothing to do with any of it … which makes you wonder if I'll ever turn on Isaac."

"Exactly," Raúl said, not even attempting to hide the fact she'd hit the nail on the head or seeming to care if it sounded insulting.

Sighing, she glanced around, making sure they were still alone in their section of the mess hall. She leaned back into her chair, settling in to tell the story of how her career—and pretty much her life—got turned the fuck upside down.

* * *

Thane opened the door to his and Jasmine's quarters, waving his hand for Theodus to enter. He wasn't entirely certain where Jasmine went, but with as restless as she'd been, it didn't at all surprise him to know she'd wandered off again.

Theodus handed him a steaming mug as he stepped inside, a broad smile on his face. "I saw Jasmine in the mess hall with Malcolm and Mateo. Judging by the look on her face, they were having a serious conversation. So, I thought it best I not intrude and decided to see if you'd like some company."

Giving the mug a second glance, Thane hesitated only a couple of seconds before deciding he trusted Theodus enough to believe the other drell wouldn't attempt to poison him. "I'm sure it was a wise decision. Please, make yourself comfortable."

Taking a sip, he let the flavors of the elocol sit on his tongue a moment, appreciating the gesture as much as the familiarity of a drink native to their homeworld. Theodus seemed to brew the tea quite a bit stronger than Thane, but it tasted good. Seating himself at the small table tucked into the corner, Theodus took a swallow from his cup, gaze taking in the accommodations of their quarters.

Thane moved further into the confining room and sat at the table with Theodus. "I recall you saying once, years ago, you haven't been to Kahje since your childhood." He looked down at the tea in his hand before meeting Theodus' gaze again. "Are you feeling nostalgic?"

Theodus smiled, but something about it seemed sad. "It's been a very long time since I've spent more than a few minutes around another drell."

"I see." Uncertain what to say to the confession, Thane didn't say anything else. Yet, he thought he understood the draw to kin—no matter how distant two random members of the same species may be. Indeed, he hadn't realized how much he missed being around other drell until he returned to Kahje for his treatments.

"I hope it's not truly a bother for me to join you on this mission." Theodus took another drink before setting his mug down but leaving his hands wrapped around the ceramic.

"No, not a bother. I only wish for everyone to be safe." Thane let out a soft sigh. "As much as your assistance will be appreciated, we are capable of managing without you, so it would be particularly tragic if something happened to you."

Theodus hummed and brought his cup to his lips again. "Be careful, Thane, it's starting to sound as if you actually care about my wellbeing."

"I—of course, I care." Thane blinked twice and tilted his head a fraction. "Perhaps I haven't made myself clear. My apologies. I've never been particularly good at understanding or expressing emotions, you might say it was trained out of me to some extent. And until recently, I've spent much of my time in a constant state of battle sleep. I'm sure you understand, the life of an assassin doesn't lend itself well to fostering friendships with others. Nevertheless, I've always cared about your wellbeing, Theodus."

Drinking their elocol, they both let the silence linger by unspoken, mutual agreement. Several, long minutes passed before they found one another's gazes once more, and Thane offered him a smile.

"You are one of only so few drell I've ever dealt with who doesn't look at me and see an abomination." Tuning one of his palms out, Theodus said, "Or, at least if you do, you're polite enough to keep your distaste from me. I thank you for that, it's nice to be among my own for a while."

Thane scoffed and took a sip of his tea. "I have held to many of the traditions of our people. I still pray to the gods of Rakhana, but I no more believe in the foolishness of 'the curse of the soulless' than I do the necessity of sacrificing our firstborn sons to appease the gods. Nor do I believe they wish for us too." He shook his head. "The white of your scales and the red of your eyes are nothing but the results of a genetic anomaly. Science has proven this." Setting his cup down, he propped his elbows on the table and clasped his hands in front of his face. "No, Theodus, I have seen and killed many abominations in my life. You are not among their kind."

Tears welled in Theodus' eyes, and for a moment, Thane thought he'd misspoken. Nictitating membranes whisking the wetness away before it shed, Theodus cleared his throat and said, "I'm afraid I don't have the words to adequately express how much it means to me to hear another drell say those things. They are, perhaps, especially meaningful coming from you. Thank you."

Lips quirking in a smirk, Thane picked his cup up again. "It must be meaningful if you, of all people, are without adequate words."

Theodus let out a bark of laughter which soon shifted to persistent chuckles, and the smile widened on Thane's face. Regaining his composure, Theodus picked up his own cup. "Oh, but she has been quite the influence on you."

"Indeed." Thane took a swallow of elocol.

"It's good to see you like this," Theodus said, gaze searching Thane's face. "I'm pleased you found someone to be happy with."

"My thanks." Thane propped his elbows on the table again, holding his cup in front of him. "She has most certainly brought joy back into my life."

"Though, I wonder if this thing with Cerberus isn't taking a toll on her." Tipping his head as if making a concession, Theodus added, "Perhaps the both of you."

Thane hummed. "Indeed it has, but Cerberus is not all to blame. There has been … quite a few distressing things happening as of late."

"Ah. I suppose your ambiguity means you don't wish to speak about them, but should you change your mind …. Or, if there is anything more I can do to help, please, let me know. I care about both of you as well."

"That is kind of you." Thane paused with his cup halfway to his mouth and then set it down on the table. "Perhaps there is something."

Theodus leaned forward, folding his arms on the table's surface. "I'm listening."

* * *

Jasmine returned to the room to find Thane and Theodus sitting on the floor together, eyes closed, legs folded with their knees all but touching. She stopped in her tracks, lifting an eyebrow, and they both turned their heads to look at her. It took a second to make sense of the scene and realize they were both in meditation.

"Uhhh … should I come back later?" She glanced back and forth between the two of them.

"Not at all." Thane held his hand out to her. "I think we were just about done, for now, anyway."

She moved to him, sliding her hand in his and letting him guide her down to the floor next to them. "Group meditation?"

"Not exactly. Theodus is helping me attempt to recover my memories." He waved his free hand. "Ah. I've told you before drell are taught very young to control our memories so we are not constantly slipping into the past."

"Yeah." It'd be a lie to say she wasn't starting to really feel concerned about his obsession with uncovering those memories, but she supposed, after all the worrying she'd made him do lately, it was far less than she deserved.

"This happens through a series of mental exercises practiced regularly." He shifted, unfolding one of his legs to bend his knee and plant his foot on the floor. "I have been using one of the techniques myself to try and recover my time on Thessia, however, it is far more efficient when practiced with another drell."

"How does it work?" she asked. "Does it have to be a drell?"

"I'm afraid it does. Well, I suppose a salarian would be able to manage with instruction. It requires an eidetic memory." Thane squeezed her fingers before brushing his thumb across the back of her hand. "I must submerge myself in the memory, almost to the point of completely losing my hold on the present. After listening to the memory, Theodus repeats it back to me, which will trigger it to restart again."

"A child would be encouraged to hold the memory off and to wait and listen for the other to finish before allowing themselves to embrace the memory again," Theodus added, waving a hand before leaning forward to rest his forearms on his knees.

"However, we have adapted this to suit my needs." Thane brushed his thumb over her hand again and tilted his head a little when she turned her attention back to him. "By moving in and out of the depths of the memory, I'm stimulating specific areas of my brain, which I hope will reinforce the events of that particular time and bring subdued pieces forward. So, after I have spoken the memory aloud, I allow myself to resurface and simply watch the memory in silence while listening to Theodus' recall of my words."

She raised an eyebrow, intrigued, but still confused as to why he'd need another drell. "Why couldn't I just record you and then play it back for you?" Not to say she minded Theodus helping him, in fact, it warmed her heart to see the two of them bonding outside of information trade. She had a feeling they both really needed more friends in their lives. She just wished there was something she could do to help.

"I … I had not thought about that," Thane said, but the twitch of Theodus' lips made it clear he had even if Thane didn't. Letting out a soft scoff, Thane smiled and squeezed her hand. "How foolish of me."

"Thanks for rendering me obsolete." Theodus chuckled, leaning back on his palms.

"Not at all," Thane said, shaking his head. "It would hardly be sufficient for the other exercises, should they become necessary."

Theodus tilted his head a little and said, "True, but you've already made progress with this method. Do you really think you'll need the others?"

"What else did you remember?" she asked, not meaning to be rude to Theodus, but between her concern and curiosity, the question refused to wait.

"Mostly, I've solidified my approach through the ruins and locating Corlina for the first time." He seemed to hesitate a moment before asking, "Would you like to hear me recount it for you?"

"I would, but it doesn't sound like you really want me to hear it," she said, sucking her teeth and pursing her lips. Maybe she should just go. Get out of there and let them do their drell thing, take her useless, fucked up, hot mess of a human ass somewhere else.

He gave her a weak smile and lifted his hand to her face, fingertips ghosting over her cheekbone. "Forgive me for not wanting to expose you to the details of such … darkness, siha."

"It's your choice," she said with a shrug, trying her best to keep her thoughts off her face, "but I can't help you if I don't know what's going on."

Tipping his head to her, he said, "As you wish."


	8. Operation Nemean Lion-Skin

**Operation Nemean Lion-Skin**

Jasmine crept up along the east side of the building, Arrae beating down on her from above. Cool air drifted from over the snow-capped mountains, the sound of rushing water meeting her ears. She'd passed right by two men in white, heavy armor, orange and black Cerberus markings making her trigger finger itch. It wasn't time, though, she needed to wait for everyone to be in position and Isaac to give the order.

Stopping crouched behind a crate, she glanced over, meeting Thane's gaze as he settled in on the opposite flank and nodded. She brought her hand to her comm, keeping her voice low. "Team Athena is in place."

"Team Hermes is in position," Avalina's voice came over the comm in response, verifying the status for her and Raúl.

A moment later, Ares' gravely voice gave the confirmation for him and Isaac, "Team Heracles is in position."

"And Typhon is still where you left him." Theodus insisted on the name, though God only knew why, considering Typhon fathered Cerberus in the myths, but no one cared enough to argue him down. Maybe it came as an ego boost for him, which sounded about right to Jasmine, what with Typhon said to be the most deadly creature in Greek Mythology.

Jasmine took a deep breath, mildly annoyed by the more restrictive feel of armor. Isaac purchased a set of Predator L Armor for both her and Dickhead from Armax Arsenal, shoving it at the two of them last minute and ordering them to wear it. But, at least he got himself a set, too.

A moment later, Isaac's voice, calm and collected came over the comm. "Team Hermes, go."

She swallowed as the sound of gunfire broke out on the opposite side of the facility, her grip on her rifle tightening.

"Team Athena, go."

Thane stepped out of cover, biotics flaring, drawing the attention of the two commandos patrolling the east side. She activated her cloak, leveling her rifle on the first one to lock Thane in his sights and fired.

Operation Nemean Lion-Skin was underway. There'd be no turning back.

* * *

He watched his siha move into the facility, footsteps silent, her shots never missing. She'd come so, so far since their paths first crossed, and yet he still felt terror in his heart with each meter they put between themselves and the exit. If something happened to her on Gellix, there would be no aid. There was no hospital for them to rush her to, nothing within kilometers of the facility. Yet there they were, marching right into a predator's den.

Although he understood and respected the tactical decision to separate their forces, it only increased his concern, forced him to be vigilant beyond all means as he was the only one present to ensure Jasmine's safety. Isaac informed them all they would meet on the second floor, just above the shuttle hangar doors, and from there advance through the rest of the facility. At least then there would be others around to help him keep his siha safe. He knew she'd be angry at him for even thinking she needed protection, but truly it wasn't a commentary on her skills, only his love for her and how utterly devastated he'd be if she were killed. Especially with him right there and yet unable to keep her alive.

He knew she must fear the same for him.

Flinging a Warp out at an advancing commando, Thane spun and fired off three shots into another attempting to flank Jasmine. The first hit took down the rest of his shields, the second damaged the armor, but the third shot found its way home. Insufficient to kill the Cerberus lackey, but as Thane intended, the man dropped his weapon, most likely no longer able to move his arm without agonizing pain. Jasmine fired her rifle at her target before turning, letting off another shot right into the eyeshield of the man's helmet, at point-blank range before his shields regenerated. He fell to the ground, seizing in his death throes, but she only turned away, leveling her weapon on the next target.

"They've locked down the shuttle hangar doors. Typhon, stick to cover and advance." The sound of biotics and the sharp, rapid-fire sound of turrets followed by an explosion carried over the comm, nearly washing out Isaac's voice.

"Moving forward," Theodus' voice carried a warble which Thane doubted anyone but he, and perhaps Ares, would hear let alone understand to be utter fear.

Obviously, Theodus was not nearly as prepared to face the dangers of infiltrating the base as he'd tried to convince himself and everyone else. Thane prayed it didn't prove to be a fatal mistake to allow him to join the mission in person. He still didn't entirely understand what possessed Theodus to even  _consider_  putting himself at such a risk.

Thane pushed forward, hoping to keep the advancing commandos from getting too close, giving Jasmine the time and room she needed to use her sniper rifle until she decided to switch weapons on her own terms. He knew she felt far more comfortable and confident with her sniper rifle in her hand, and he wished to allow her that for as long as possible. Biotics flaring, he sent a ball of the blue-white energy hurling toward the nearest Cerberus soldier, lifting him off of his feet in a Throw and sending him crashing into his allies.

* * *

The extra, unfamiliar weight of the armor started to feel as if it were dragging her to the ground. They hadn't even made it to the rendezvous point, and already she'd started lagging. Her shoulder ached; not the sharp, shooting pains she felt early in her recovery, but clearly and adamantly enough she  _had_  to switch to her pistol for a while. Like it or not.

"Athena, Hermes, report."

She lifted her hand to her comm, staying behind cover a moment longer, grateful for a few extra stolen seconds of recovery. "Athena has nearly reached the doors, we're on the stairs now."

"Hermes has reached the west side entrance. Breaching the facility now," Avalina's voice filled Jasmine's ear.

Pushing back up to a crouch, she signaled to Thane that she intended to move forward and take ground. He gave her a quick jerk of his head in acknowledgment, and then she activated her cloak, moving on to the next turn in the stairs where she'd take cover once more. As she ducked behind the metal plating of the stair railing, her shield sputtered and dropped. Bullets instantly filled the air around her, slamming into the metal at her back, denting it and leaving it uncomfortably hot.

Thane returned fire, biotics flying over her head, giving her the second she needed to regroup and lift her pistol. Shot after shot after shot. She wasn't going to make it through the facility. She just didn't possess the type of training the level of combat required, and not even the simulators at Armax Arsenal Arena could've prepared her for the sheer aggressiveness Cerberus possessed. And to think she'd believed there stood a good chance Mellina finding the facility and rescuing Lenat forced Cerberus to shut down their operations on Gellix.

Apparently, it was nothing more than stupid, wishful thinking.

Thane moved up beside her, face a stolid mask, telling her that he'd gone into his battle sleep. Good. Maybe it'd help keep him alive. She wished Isaac made Thane wear armor, too. Maybe he would've if she'd asked him to, but the thought never occurred to her until just then. Not that the armor she wore would hold up for long if she wasn't careful, but at least it allowed her to tap into its system with her omni-tool and raise shields.

Another commando dropped under her fire, tumbling down the stairs to finally come to a stop on the landing in front of her. His arm flopped over, something rolling out of his hand across the floor toward her, flashing.

"Shit." She grabbed Thane's arm, dragging his attention to her as she shoved him toward the stairs. "Go. Hurry, go."

Surrounding himself in biotics, he jumped to his feet, and they rushed up the stairs instead of back down, both of them refusing to surrender ground as the grenade exploded behind them. The force and the shrapnel slammed into her, dropping her shields and throwing her forward against the steps, sending a bark of pain through her shoulder. Dragging herself back up, she scurried into cover, firing haphazardly at the last two armored men at the top of the stairs.

Glancing over her shoulder, she realized Thane still lied on the stairs, coughing and seeming dazed as he rolled to his back. Jesus Christ, he was prone and out in the open. Swallowing down the sudden spike of fear, she pushed to her feet, making herself a target and fired. Again and again and again as she backed her way to Thane, forcing the commandos to stay in cover.

Her pistol overheated as she reached Thane, jamming and refusing to fire. "Get up." She grabbed his arm, pulling at him.

He groaned, his eyes taking a moment to focus on her, but she ran out of time. The rapid fire of an assault rifle thundered through the air, projectiles slamming into her and dropping her shields again, one ripping through her armor to graze along her thigh, another doing the same to her hip. Her leg buckled, dropping her to one knee, slamming against the stairs. Biting back the scream, she hissed through her teeth and dropped her pistol, grabbing Thane's instead. Lifting the weapon, she started firing again.

* * *

The cool wave of Medi-gel brought Thane's vision back into focus, the ringing in his ears starting to clear. He needed to get up. His siha needed him. Rolling to his hands and knees, biotics surrounded him as he pushed himself to his feet and took off in a run up the stairs. He threw a Warp at one of the men before drawing a dagger and slipping it, effortlessly, between the plates of armor on the other man, feeling it slide through cloth and padding before piercing flesh.

The man tried to swing at him, but Thane easily ducked the blow before slamming his blade into place again, piercing the human's lung before letting him drop to the ground. Thane turned, prepared to end the life of the first commando only to find Jasmine already eliminated the threat. Lifting his gaze to meet hers, chest heaving, he took in the tears of her armor, blood seeping through.

"I'm alright." Moving up to stand with him at the next landing, she handed him back his weapon. "We need to keep moving, they're waiting for us. Are you good?"

Reaching over, he wrapped his hand around the back of her helmet and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her armored forehead. "I'm fine, siha."

She hacked through the lock on the door while he watched for any sign of enemies approaching from behind them. The doors slid open, the sounds of gunfire greeting them as Isaac and Ares already engaged the enemies inside. Thane lifted his gun, taking aim and firing at the white-armored humans as he stepped through the door. He watched Jasmine through his peripherals, making certain she found cover before taking his own.

Isaac appeared to be working to keep the enemy at bay using his biotics to control their movements in between shots. Ares fired a shotgun blast into the abdomen of a commando before ramming the butt of his weapon into the man's helmet, the movement almost making the painted flames on the turian's black armor dance. With Theodus nowhere in sight, some distant part of Thane's mind prayed it didn't mean the drell died. Adding his biotics to the mix, he picked a commando attempting to flank Ares, and hit him with a Throw, tossing him into a stack of crates at the back of the room. A moment later, another door at the back opened, and Thane spared only a second to verify it was Avalina and Raúl before turning his attention back to the fight.

As soon as they cleared the room, Thane lowered his pistol and surveyed the damage. There were men and women in white lab coats sprawled out on the floor, lying in pools of their own blood. They didn't appear armed, and they certainly weren't armored, but Thane didn't doubt they gave Isaac and Ares reason to kill them.

Catching his breath, Isaac lifted his hand to his comm. "Typhon, advance. Let's see what these consoles hold."

* * *

Jasmine took in the trickle of blue blood seeping down the scarred side of Ares' face. She wondered if he even felt it. Isaac tugged at the padding of her armor where it'd torn, peeking at the wounds inside. She'd used Medi-gel already, so there was nothing he could do about them either way.

"The armor's slowing me down," Jasmine said, turning her attention back to Isaac.

He bobbed his head. "Maybe, but you're keeping it on."

Ares rumbled, flicking a mandible. "If you get shot because you take your armor off, I'm not carrying you."

She scoffed, flashing a grin at him. "I'm not planning on taking it off. I just need to adapt to it, is all." She glanced back at Isaac. "It would've been better if you'd given it to me before and let me use it in the simulator back on the Citadel."

Chuckling, Isaac dropped his hand, but he nodded. "You're right, but I made the decision sort of last minute." He shrugged, rolling his head around on his shoulders. "I'm not too fond of it, either."

"There are enemies approaching," Avalina said, pressing her back to the doorframe and checking over her assault rifle.

"Typhon, you about done over there?" Isaac asked, glancing over his shoulder at the drell.

"Almost …." Theodus sounded distracted, and Jasmine hoped it meant he'd found something good.

Taking a deep breath, she crouched down behind the edge of some piece of equipment she didn't recognize and waited, watching as Ares and Isaac took up station in front of Theodus. Raúl mimicked her position on the opposite side of the room, and Thane moved up to the other side of the door across from Avalina.

Before long, the room devolved into a war zone once again. Each shot reverberated through her entire body until she felt numb to it all. Isaac barked orders in her ear, and she followed them. Move, shoot, take cover, move, shoot, take cover. Push the enemy back. Protect 'Typhon'. Her head was ringing by the time the fighting came to a stop once more. How everyone on her team managed to remain standing, she had no clue, but thank God they were all safe.

"I have locations for two more Cerberus facilities, I believe. It was heavily encrypted, I doubt the people who worked at this facility even had access to the information." Theodus closed his omni-tool, turning to face the crowd of expectant eyes. "And, regrettably, this facility is still running active experiments on both turians and humans. I've sent you all a link to the live feed and the locations of the test subjects."

* * *

Jasmine stood trembling and staring at the men, women, and—Jesus Fucking Christ—children they found, locked away in cells within the Cerberus facility. Turians and humans alike, half seemed minutes away from death while the other half seemed physically healthy enough but driven stark-raving mad by whatever the fuck Cerberus did to them. Tumorous growths and weeping sores covered two human women shoved into the same, small cell. A little turian boy, probably several years younger than Talak, sat pressed against the wall in the corner of his cell. His legs looked twisted, contorted, and Jasmine realized it'd be impossible for the boy to stand. A teenaged human girl lay, convulsing, in a puddle of vomit. Across from her, a turian man, malnourished, scarred, with eyes glazed over as if blind, struggled to lift his head upright.

Bodies—the logs referred to as 'rejects'—claimed space next to the incinerators on the other side of the room. As if the poor souls locked away in cages like animals hadn't been through enough, but no, Cerberus forced them to watch as those who just weren't quite as strong waited to be burned to ashes. Everyone on Operation Nemean Lion-Skin seemed just as frozen by the sights as she felt.

"H—help us." A human man, probably in his sixties, slapped a palm against the glass only to have his hand slide down, flesh sloughing off in a wet trail of blood, skin, muscle, and fat.

Acid started to rise in the back of Jasmine's throat. She looked away. She just … she just couldn't. She caught sight of Ares, tense, mandibles flicking, gaze turning to each new noise before he dug out his cigarettes and lit one. Absurdly, she wondered if he meant to calm his nerves or hide the odor of festering wounds and decaying flesh. Theodus stepped away from the group, moving to a console at the back of the room, in between the rows of cells. Somehow, his snow-white scales looked a little paler.

Raúl cleared his throat, and Jasmine glanced at him. He shifted uncomfortably, his gaze on Isaac. "Malcolm … what's the plan?"

Isaac didn't respond, though, he just stood with his back to the group, staring into a cell where a woman sat on the floor. Rocking back and forth, her face empty, void of emotion, the woman clutched a dead child in her skeletal arms.

Jasmine swallowed and moved over closer to Ares, Thane right behind her, a silent, solid wall of support at her back. She kept her tone low, the semblance of a private conversation the best any of them could have just then. "Think any of them can be helped, you know turian physiology better than I do? Suggestions?"

Humming around the cigarette in his mouth, Ares took a drag before pulling the cigarette away. "Kill them."

She was afraid he'd say that. Afraid mostly because the exact thought already whispered in the back of her mind. The people in those cells were beyond help. They couldn't be saved. Even if Isaac called the Alliance for aid, they'd all probably be dead long before help arrived. They'd come there to take out Cerberus, not execute the organization's victims, but it looked like it might be the most merciful thing they could possibly do.

"We're  _not_  killing them," Raúl said, glaring at her little group over his shoulder. "There are  _children_  in here."

Thane cleared his throat, tucking his hands behind his back, voice void of emotion in his battle sleep. "They are suffering and dying. It would be a kindness."

"He's right." Avalina's voice broke the stretch of silence. "Regrettably. They are beyond saving."

Jasmine closed her eyes a second, head pounding, shoulder aching, and her heart breaking into a thousand pieces. When she opened them again, she looked to Isaac, hoping he would give her direction. "Bossman?"

Finally, he turned away from the cell, eyes sparkling with unshed tears behind his helmet's visor. "There's not …." He trailed off as a tear broke free, sliding down his cheek. He'd said emotional detachment was an issue for him, and just then, his apparent struggle threatened to rip her shakily held wall to shreds. Looking down, he shook his head. "I don't know," he said, voice so soft she almost didn't hear it at all. "We could … I could … shit."

The conflict and agony in his voice overwhelmed her, making the decision for him. For her. For all of them, she supposed. She glanced up at Ares, pressing her lips into a thin, grim line and gave him a quick jerk of her head in a nod. She moved to the cell nearest her and hacked through the lock. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and leveled her pistol on the man cowering in the corner, face nothing more than a knotted mass of overgrown tissue, open wounds covering the rest of him, seeping and oozing foul smelling pus. Throat spasming, tears filled her own eyes, but she pulled the trigger anyway. Trembling once more, she squeezed her eyes closed for a second, sucking in the fetid air as she heard more cells opening and more shots being fired.

Opening her eyes again, she moved on to the next cell.

* * *

Thane kept a close eye on Jasmine whenever they stopped to catch their breath. In all, they'd found three rooms, more or less identical to the first, filled with tortured, dying people in cells. As with the others, the victims were put out of their misery. Unlike the first time, they showed no hesitancy, offered no debate, only grim determination. The rage in Jasmine's eyes once her tears stopped turned his blood to ice. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, she would never truly rest again until she'd turned  _all_ of Cerberus to ash and dust.

Despite clinging to his battle sleep, his heart had shattered, sharp shards piercing his lungs and vital organs, stealing the breath from him when he saw her face as she'd turned from killing the first innocent man of many yet to come. She'd never be the same. He couldn't save her from it, from the things haunting her mind and eating away at her soul.

_This day will stay with her for the rest of her life._

Undoubtedly feeling his gaze on her, she turned to look at him, tempered steel in her eyes. She gave him a once over before walking away from the console Theodus worked to hack through and approached him. Settling a gloved hand on his shoulder, she jerked it back when he winced. She met his gaze, concern liquifying the metal in her eyes, and she tugged his lapel back out of the way. Blood soaked into the lining of his jacket, adhering the cloth to his scales in a few places, wrenching at least two free, but he said nothing as she examined the Medi-gel covered wound cutting through his trapezius. It wasn't a bad wound, barely more than a graze in his mind, but he knew by the look in her eyes she saw it as something far worse.

He covered her hand with his, gently urging her fingers free of his jacket. "It's nothing, siha. We have all sustained minor injuries here today. Why should I be exempt?"

"Ha! Got it!" Theodus' called out, the excitement clear in his voice as he abandoned the console, moving to the door.

"Typhon, wait!" Isaac took off running toward the drell, little more than three meters away, as Theodus already brought his hand up to the door's release control.

He didn't get there quite fast enough, though.

Theodus' palm made contact, and the doors started sliding open just as Isaac reached the drell. Tackling Theodus, Isaac turned just as the doors exploded, throwing the two of them across the room, shrapnel flying.

* * *

Jasmine's heart stopped, freezing her in place for an eternity. Then, something inside of her took over, sending her feet pounding across the metal floor, distantly aware of the sound of other footsteps following her lead. She skidded to a stop over Isaac, Theodus pinned beneath him.

"Bossman?" She dropped to her knees next to him.

Theodus' eyes frantically sought hers out, pained, shallow gasps escaping his throat. "I'm sorry, Jasmine. Arashu, forgive me."

Ripping her gloves off, she wrapped her hands around Isaac's shoulder, gently but swiftly turning him over to pull him off the drell trapped beneath. Raúl dropped out of his sprint, sliding the last meter to her side. His hands already there to help stabilize Isaac as they shifted him to his back. The moment Isaac's weight disappeared, Theodus cried out in agony, blood pouring out of a wound to his abdomen, another higher up on his chest, and what looked like a terribly deep gash on his upper arm. Tearing her gaze away from the swiftly growing pool of crimson, she looked at Isaac, finding him completely unresponsive with his eyes closed.

_Dear God, please, please, please. Oh, God. Oh God, no. Jesus Christ._

Ice cold and numb, she maneuvered her hand through the fabric of his under armor at his neck and pressed her fingers against him. She let out a shuddering, sob of a sound when she felt his pulse there just below his skin, beating hard and strong.

_Thank you, thank you, thank you._

"He's got a pulse." She looked up, meeting Raúl's gaze. "Get him back. Over there," she said, pointing to a stack of crates. "Thane?"

"I'm here, Jasmine."

She whipped her head around to find him already there, kneeling on the other side of Theodus. God damn her fucking helmet limiting her peripheral vision and her hearing. He flared with biotics, creating a field around the wounds while Avalina ripped open cartridges of Medi-gel.

"I'll do it … I can carry him easier," Ares said with a grunt, stowing his rifle and squatting down next to Raúl.

For a second, she thought Raúl would argue, but he pressed his lips together and nodded, watching over the proceedings—an even bigger mother hen than Isaac himself. Ares carefully scooped Isaac up in his arms, limp as a ragdoll, and pushed up to his feet. Raúl followed as Ares carried him over to the stack of crates, settling him gently down to the ground once more. Ares stepped out of the way then, leaving Raúl to his fussing.

Jasmine held her hand out for one of the cartridges of Medi-gel, torn between helping Isaac, helping Theodus, and moving to guard the now unclosable door. "Nemos, can you keep an eye on the door?"

"On it," he said, but she didn't look up to make sure, trusting Ares to keep them safe and alert them to any potential threat.

"I have—I have to tell you something before it's too late." Theodus put a trembling hand on Thane's forearm.

"Shh, just relax, Theodus." Jasmine worked to help close the wounds as Thane slowly eased his biotics back.

"Tha—sorry. So, sorry. Tannor … I need you to know …." He winced, crying out as Jasmine gently prodded the wound on his abdomen, checking to make sure nothing lodged itself inside. "I can't die without telling you, I'm … I was born as Rokat … Krios. I am the son of Haset."

Thane's biotics faltered, his hands trembling. Jasmine's eyes widened and her hands froze in their work as she glanced between Thane and Theodus. She didn't know who Haset was, but she got the drift of 'Krios' all too well. Thane looked stunned, utterly and completely, as if the bleeding drell declared himself to actually be a krogan instead of a relative. Theodus searched his gaze with a quiet desperation, though what he hoped to find, she really didn't know.

Avalina laughed, the sound echoing a little before she put a lid on it and leaned over Theodus enough for his gaze to shift to her. "Your wounds are  _not_  fatal."

Ares' chuff rolled through the room. "Idiot."

* * *

"Goddamnit, just do what I fucking said!" Jasmine yelled at Raúl, seconds away from shooting the man.

The whole thing went to shit in the blink of an eye, and she  _was not_  going to let anything else go wrong. They were all there because of her—because she couldn't let go of a simple fucking statement made by a dead man. The mission was her responsibility;  _they_  were  _her_  responsibility.

"If anyone is going to be giving orders, it's me." Raúl shook his head, defiance and fear creating an inferno in his eyes. "I outrank you by seniority."

"I don't give a shit! Look around you, asshole." She flung her left arm out to the side, right hand tightening its grip on her pistol. "This isn't a Phantoms operation. No one is here  _because of you_. Everyone is here because  _I_ asked them to be. These are people  _I_ know,  _my friends_. And now people are hurt because of it, so I'll be goddamned if I'm not going to step up and take responsibility for this shit show. So, either fall in line or head for the fucking door."

Ares growled. "I could just shoot him and save us the time."

From her peripherals, Jasmine saw him roll his right shoulder and shift his pistol in his hand. She kept her stare locked on Raúl, though, unwilling to give a centimeter even as she thanked God for Ares' blatant show of support. Determined to make the older Phantom understand just how deadly serious she felt in the moment, she held her ground until he finally looked away. Several long, tense seconds passed in silence before he turned, making his way to guard the door they came through without another word.

Swallowing, Jasmine spared one last glance at Isaac, watching as his chest rose and fell with a steady rhythm. Turning, she met Ares' gaze. "Thank you," she said softly, just loud enough for him to hear, before jerking her head toward the empty space where doors once stood.

It opened up into a large, warehouse of a room, spanning thirty meters or so. Column supports lined the room, crates and skycars scattered throughout the floor. Seconds after Ares and Jasmine took up position on either side of the jagged hole, a door at the far end opened, Cerberus troops filing in. Above, another, smaller door opened and snipers took up position on the catwalks.

She glanced at Ares. "Focus on the snipers."

"Finally," he said, a low growl rumbling through his subvocals as he switched weapons and crouched to get a stable footing, "I get to bring out my favorite."

She lowered her pistol at the nearest commando, the bark of Ares' rifle roaring through her ears as she caught sight of a sniper's head exploding into gory ruins up above. Pulling her trigger, feeling oh so grateful for the armor piercing rounds Avalina passed on to her along the way, she fought to keep the ground troops at bay.

"Tannor, we need Avalina, can you finish up on your own?" Jasmine called back over her shoulder.

She didn't hear his response over the bark of Ares' rifle, but a moment later the asari commando stood next to Jasmine, assault rifle lowered and biotics flaring.

* * *

_The son of Haset Krios. Sweet Arashu, how could I have not known?_

Thane's hands continued to tremble as he smoothed Medi-gel over the last of Theodus' wounds. Neither of them spoke, let alone made eye contact. What was there to say to such a confession? Thane hadn't seen his family since they turned him over to the Compact. He never even knew his uncle had children, never knew he had a cousin.

_Why would you keep this from me for so long?_

Theodus must've known, quite likely within days or even hours of first meeting Thane. Years. He'd worked with Theodus for years, and Thane never even suspected. He'd always just assumed the man's prying questions were nothing more than curiosity and a quest for power through information, but … if Theodus spoke the truth … if they were kin … perhaps he'd been trying to find a way to tell Thane.

He needed to focus. It wasn't the time to ponder such things, no matter how much they left him reeling. People shot at Jasmine and Avalina a handful of meters away—and Ares, too, of course—while he sat there trying to wrap his head around the revelation. Pushing up to his feet, he held a hand out to Theodus, finally meeting the other drell's gaze. "Can you stand? I need to get you behind cover."

He heard Jasmine give the order to push forward into the room as Theodus slid his hand into Thane's, nodding his head. Thane eased him to his feet, wrapping an arm around his waist to help support his weight as he moved him over next to Isaac. As soon as Theodus settled back to the floor, Thane drew his pistol and turned.

"Seal the other door and get in here," Jasmine said over the comm. "We need the extra guns. We'll have to keep pushing forward. I caught sight of an exit, it's closer than backtracking."

Thane glanced over his shoulder at Raúl, relieved to find the Phantom following Jasmine's command. He didn't wait, though, he couldn't see any of their people from his vantage point, and if he couldn't see Jasmine, he couldn't keep her safe.

* * *

Limping and aching all over, Jasmine stepped into the dimming light of Arrae as it set beyond the horizon. Hours passed since they entered the facility, and as Thane said, not a single one of them would walk away unmarred by the day's events. Yet somehow, by some miracle, they all  _would_  walk away.

Sucking in a deep breath of the cool, fresh air, she turned to glance between Avalina and Ares. "Scout it out, make sure no one's waiting in ambush, and then set the charges. We're getting the fuck out of here."

Ares rumbled, nodding his head to her before taking off down one side of the building.

"We will meet you at the shuttle." Avalina offered Jasmine a smile, but any fool could see the ghosts in the asari's eyes. She turned, heading off in the opposite direction from Ares.

"You did well, siha." Thane moved to stand in front of her, settling his hands on her hips. "Assuming command couldn't have been an easy choice, but you did well."

Leaning forward, she rested her head against his chest, careful to avoid his wounds. It didn't feel like she did well. It felt like she got by on sheer luck, nothing more. Raúl returned to Isaac as soon as they reached the exit, muttering something about he might be awake, but she knew if Isaac had woken up, he'd have contacted them over the comms. She felt scared, but as long as he drew breath, there was still hope.


	9. Scrapes and Bruises

**Scrapes and Bruises**

She'd excused herself when Theodus arrived at her door, cleaned and patched up by the ship's medic. She wanted him to have a chance to talk to Thane in private. Sure, Thane would probably tell her everything either way, but she figured the things they needed to say might come easier without an extra set of ears in the room. Thane already told her Theodus' confession meant they were cousins. It was quite the whammy to lay on him in the middle of taking down a Cerberus facility; she could only imagine how stunned he must've felt.

Isaac remained under sedation in the med bay, the doctors working to bring the swelling down while Raúl watched over him like a hawk. She'd spent an hour or so in there with Isaac when they first boarded, but after a while, the tension in the air between her and Raúl grew thick enough to choke on. And, the sterile environment, a place of healing so at odds with the disturbing images of the Cerberus hell-house still filling her mind didn't do anything to make her want to stay.

She thought about going back to check in on Isaac, but the thought of seeing him laid out, IV and wires trailing away from his body …. Instead, she'd grabbed the alcohol stashed in her bag, gave Thane a kiss on the cheek, and went in search of Ares.

She found him curled up in the corner of a darkened storage unit on the lowest deck of the ship. Nothing more than a few, dimly lit, tracer lights lined the floor, casting a soft, blue glow which really didn't do much to penetrate the darkness. The lingering, thick haze and odor of his cigarettes helped to confirm her suspicions about the turian's physical and mental state; he must've already worked his way through at least a half-dozen of them.

Following the glow of his cigarette, she made her way over and held out the bottle of horosk in her hand while she all but whispered, "Thought you might need this. Mind if I sit with you?"

He thrummed, a deep rumble of gratitude, and stuck his cigarette in his mouth. Reaching out with both hands, he took the bottle in one and offered up his other arm to her. She smiled, settling her hand on his forearm and let him lead her through the darkness, around his duffle and pile of armor, to sit down at his side.

Cracking open her rum, she took a heavy swallow before letting out a sigh, listening to him do the same with his horosk as he tossed the cap on the floor. She sat there in silence with him, not really feeling the need to talk. Although, she wasn't opposed to conversation, either. She left it to him to fill the silence or not as he saw fit. If his head hurt—and she'd put credits on it being the case—he probably preferred the quiet.

Ares shifted, scooting across the floor to sit closer to her, shoulder brushing up against hers as he offered her a drag of his cigarette. Smiling, she took it from him and brought it to her lips, but before she'd even inhaled, he pulled out another and flicked his lighter. She hummed, understanding he meant for her to keep it, and took a drag. The smoke mixed with the burn of the alcohol in the back of her throat, and she tipped her head back to blow it out at the ceiling.

"Thanks," she said, voice low and soft.

Taking his first, heavy drag, he brought a knee up to rest an elbow on. Voice thick with his subvocals but pitched just as low as hers, he asked, "How's the shoulder?"

She sighed and glanced at him, watching the silhouette of his mandibles and crest as he waited for her answer. "Achy, but the halgraven is helping. Headache?"

"To put it lightly." He sniffed and stuck his cigarette in his mouth before touching the soft plate beneath his nose. "Stopped bleeding, at least," he grunted around his cigarette.

She winced, the idea of getting migraines bad enough to cause nosebleeds concerned her, made her wonder if there was something far worse going on with the turian that he didn't know about—or maybe just didn't want to tell her about. She knew better than to say anything, so instead, she just asked, "Injuries?"

"Just the one crack …." He shifted a little, bringing his other arm up to take a long drink. "Mostly a migraine from the fucking biotics."

She turned her head, looking at him more fully as she tried to make out his features in the nearly non-existent light. "Your dampener not working?"

Humming around his cigarette, he took a drag and said, "Never been foolproof. Helps on average days but doesn't do shit when around biotics."

Brow furrowing a little, she shifted her gaze back out at the darkness. "Didn't realize it'd be an issue. Shit, that sucks." Damn. She really felt like an asshole. She didn't have a clue being around other people using biotics made his headaches worse, and there she was, asking him to fight side by side with three of them.

He flipped his hand, the glow of his cigarette creating a trail through the smoke-filled air as he took a drink of his horosk. "Most biotics just feel funny around each other. Guess I got fucked and get headaches."

"I'm sorry." She swallowed down some rum, and then after a few seconds of silence, she said, "That place was totally fucked. I'm glad you decided to join us, I think we'd have been screwed without your help. Especially at the end, there." She gently cleared her throat, reigniting the residual burn of alcohol and took another drag. "Thanks for backing my play with Dickhead."

He rumbled and smoked his cigarette, turning his head to blow the smoke away from them. "Don't mention it. Place needed to be leveled."

"Yeah … yeah, it did." Tipping her head back, she took another heavy swallow before bringing the bottle back to her lap, picking at the label with her thumbnail. "And knowing there's—fuck who knows how many—other places like it out there really pisses me off."

Ares hummed and flicked ashes into a mug at his side. "Guess you have your work cut out for you."

She huffed and let out a soft chuckle. "Guess so." Reaching past him, she flicked her ashes before dragging the mug a little closer. She took another drag, blowing the smoke toward the ceiling with a sigh. "My service contract is over soon, and I'm done. With the Alliance, I mean." She glanced at him, lifting the corner of her mouth in a small smirk. "Guess it's time to see what the big deal is with this freelancing thing."

"There goes your pension plan," he said, voice flat save for the undercurrent of humor leaking through his subvocals, before taking a drink and glancing toward her.

Her smirk broke into a full-on smile. "Maybe, but by the sound of things, I'll make way more freelancing anyway."

"Pretty much." He gave her a slight nod before turning to lean his crest against the wall behind him. "And you already have contacts."

She let out another soft chuckle. "Guess I do." Taking a drag, she turned to look at him fully. "Will it help if I rub your head?"

He shifted to look down at her, rumbling curiously. "I guess so?"

She hummed, suppressing a laugh at the confusion laced through his response. "Want to do it sitting or laying down?"

"You're doing me the favor, so what's more comfortable?" He shrugged, flaring his mandibles.

Pushing away from the wall, she turned to the side and scooted back, folding her legs under her. "Lay on your back, and rest your head here." She patted her crossed calves.

He didn't say anything or move for a few seconds before finally taking the last drag from his cigarette and dropping it into the mug. Blowing the smoke away from her, he sat the bottle beside her and laid back. She put out her own cigarette and helped guide his crest to the space between her legs and body. Rolling her stiff shoulder, she slipped her hands under his head, pressing her thumbs into the plateless hide beneath his crest. With deep pressure, she stroked downward from his crest to the base of his neck, squeezing and rolling the tense muscles in her hands, using the same, well-practiced method she once used with an old turian fuckbuddy of hers.

Ares rumbled, the sound vibrating against her fingers. His mandibles flicked, and he relaxed more in her hands. "Careful for the actual scar. It gets hot around the dampener."

"Mhmm," she said in a soft, soothing hum. "I won't press too hard over it."

"Well, that …. But it also does get hot." He shrugged against her. "Considered might as well give a fair warning."

"Okay," she said, not really surprised, but a little glad for the reminder so it didn't catch her off guard—it wasn't like it'd get hot enough to burn her, but it might've given her pause. "Let me know if I hit a spot that hurts too much or you want me to go back to."

After a while, she noticed his breathing start to level out, and she thought he might actually be falling asleep. She didn't say anything though, just smiled to herself as she continued working to relax the tight muscles beneath her fingers. She felt it the moment he drifted off, and a few seconds after, she started to relax the pressure she used and slow her movements until eventually coming to a stop. It was kind of peaceful, sitting there with the sleeping turian's head in her lap, and she knew there was no way she could move without waking him, so she decided to just stay there for awhile and let him sleep. God knew he probably needed it.

* * *

"I don't understand why you wouldn't tell me this before now." Thane paced to the other side of the room, looking out the small window at the stars passing them by. Closing his eyes for a second, images of his uncle floated to the surface. He hadn't even  _thought_  about Haset since he was a child, but he saw the family resemblance as he studied the man's face in the memory. Opening his eyes again, he bowed his head as he turned back to Theodus.

Theodus waited for Thane to meet his gaze again before answering, "Had I told you before now, you'd have suspected deceit. A trick designed to do you harm. And …" He looked down at his empty palms. "… you accepted me as a contact, but I didn't know if you'd accept me as your kin." Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. "Not when my own parents couldn't even love me."

Thane moved back to the table and took a seat across from … his  _cousin_. "Haset was not good to you? Father spoke highly of him, and I always found him rather pleasant before I joined the Compact." And then, a thought occurred to him, and he drew in his brow ridges. "You weren't given to the Compact?"

Theodus shifted, teeth clenching as he brought a hand to his side, cradling his injury. "Haset was unbearable, just as Ishita was. Neither could truly stand to look at my face, and they never hesitated to remind me that I was born cursed. I wasn't … they thought it'd be disgraceful to give a cursed child to the Compact."

"This pains me to hear." Thane shifted, propping his elbows on the table and clasping his hands in front of his face. "You have my sympathies." As soon as he said the words, he realized they were the last thing Theodus wanted to hear.

"I don't want your pity, Thane." Theodus stilled in his seat, his face growing a little colder, more closed off.

"Good, I'm not offering you pity." Thane frowned. "What is there to pity? You may have been mistreated as a child, but you've grown into a fine man. You've attained a higher level of skill and success in life than most of our kind manage outside of the Compact. No, I don't pity you, Theodus. I admire you, but yes, it displeases me to know you were treated so poorly and over something so foolish."

Lip quirking in a half smile, Theodus raised a brow ridge. "You admire me?"

Thane chuckled and dipped his head. "Indeed, I do." He watched Theodus for a moment and took a deep breath. "I find I'd like to know more about you, Cousin."

Smile vanishing, lips parting, Theodus looked away, but Thane saw the tears in his eyes. Thane gave the other man a moment to collect himself, understanding his use of the familial term likely stirred painful feelings inside of Theodus. He didn't mean for it to be painful but to convey his acceptance, his willingness to embrace the drell as his family, but sometimes acceptance hurt before it comforted.

Theodus returned his attention to Thane, eyes still shining with suppressed tears but seeming far more composed. "What would you like to know … Cousin?"

Grinning, Thane leaned back in his seat. As much as it warmed him for Theodus to return the honorific, it amused him even more to find himself in a position to be the one prying into Theodus' personal life. Folding his hands over his abdomen, he hummed softly, considering his first question. "Have you someone special in your life? Someone who will be displeased to see you return wounded?"

Theodus let out a soft snort and shook his head. "There is no one," he said and then grinned, mischief clear in his eyes. "Too bad Jasmine's already taken."

Thane chuckled, relaxing even more. "You don't seem like one to shy away from competition."

"Never," Theodus said, flashing a brilliant smile at Thane, "but I don't want to find myself  _in_  competition with the galaxy's greatest assassin."

Scoffing, Thane waved a hand dismissively. "I have no doubts there are others out there far more skilled than I." He didn't want to talk about himself, though, not yet, at least. "Tell me about your hobbies. Your friends. What do you enjoy?"

"Hobbies?" Theodus chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't have time for hobbies or friends, for that matter. My work is … my work is my everything."

"Ah. I spent many years in the same place." Thane frowned, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table once more. "It's a very lonely place to be."

"It is, yes." Theodus shifted and winced, clearly still in pain.

"Did the doctors not give you anything for the pain?" Thane raised a brow ridge.

"I refused." Theodus waved a hand. "I preferred having a clear mind when I came to speak with you."

"I see." Thane pushed away from the table and went to Jasmine's bag, retrieving her bottle of halgraven and shook two of them out into his palm before grabbing a bottle of water. "Here, try these. I'm sure Jasmine won't mind. They aid with pain without muddling your senses." Carrying them back to the table, he passed them off to Theodus.

"What is it?" Theodus asked but didn't wait for an answer before tossing the pills into his mouth.

"Halgraven." Thane sat back down. "It's made from plant compounds found on Ferris Fields."

Using the water to wash the pills down, Theodus glanced at Thane. "And what about your hobbies?" He smirked. "It's difficult imagining you doing anything simply for the joy of it."

Thane chuckled. "Ah. I enjoy reading. I've spent countless hours between contracts studying the work of philosophers from various species. When I find I have the opportunity, I enjoy visiting museums. I believe these count as hobbies."

"Fair enough." Theodus looked at Thane as if he were in awe for just a second. "I do enjoy my work, however. The challenge brings me great pleasure. And … I did enjoy watching the vids Jasmine suggested to me." He smiled, not the smug smirk he often used, but something soft and affectionate. "I don't often spend time doing such activities."

Smiling, Thane gently set aside his own memories of curling up on the couch or in bed to watch vids with Jasmine. "Neither did I until she came into my life."

"She's changed you, there is no question." Theodus took another drink of his water. "I'm glad, you seem much more at peace." He hummed, gaze drifting over Thane. "Despite this thing with Thessia troubling your mind."

Sighing, Thane dipped his head. "Indeed. It's been quite the distraction."

* * *

Jasmine looked up from her omni-tool when she heard the rustle of sheets. The doctors said Isaac's swelling went down enough for them to stop the sedation and let him rouse on his own. Sure enough, he shifted on the bed, letting out a soft groan as his hand lifted to his forehead.

She closed her omni-tool and stood up, nudging a sleeping Raúl as she made her way to Isaac's bedside. Smiling down at him, she put a hand on his shoulder when he turned to meet her gaze. "Hey," she said, voice soft. "How are you feeling?"

He blinked before squeezing his eyes closed and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Like shit. Theodus make it?"

"Yeah." She nodded when he turned his gaze back to her. "He took some shrapnel, but he's alive."

Raúl moved to stand next to Jasmine, and Isaac's gaze shifted to him. Letting out a relieved sigh, Raúl ran a hand through his hair. "You scared the crap out of us."

Isaac smirked and opened his mouth to respond but paused as a doctor approached from across the room. Jasmine nudged Raúl again, nodding her head back toward the chairs, silently telling him to give the doctor and Isaac some room. He pressed his lips into a thin line, but he turned with her, taking a few steps back to return to his seat. They watched and listened in silence as the doctor examined Isaac before giving him discharge instructions and unhooking his IV.

"We'll be docking with the Citadel in about an hour. I encourage you to follow up with a doctor of your choosing while you're there." The doctor helped Isaac sit up before opening her omni-tool. "I've forwarded your records to your omni-tool. If you start to feel worse before we dock, let me know."

"Thank you, I'll be sure to do that." Isaac smiled at her and eased off the bed.

"Mhmm. In the meantime, maybe consider investing in some heavier armor if you're going to be going toe to toe with mercenaries. Hmm?" She arched an eyebrow at him.

Taking to Jasmine's cover story as smooth as silk, Isaac chuckled and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

The doctor retreated back to her desk at the other end of the room. Raúl and Jasmine moved back to Isaac's side. With an unspoken agreement, they both wrapped an arm around Isaac to lead him from the med bay despite his dismissive scoff.

"How are you  _really_?" she asked once they were outside of the doctor's range of hearing.

Isaac looked down at her and smiled. "I've had worse, Sunshine. I'll be fine."

Tightening her grip on him, she huffed. "You'd better be."

"Do you want me to locate a doctor on the Citadel?" Raúl asked, voice low, staying just between the three of them.

"No. I know someone. I'll check in with her, stop worrying." Isaac glanced between her and Raúl. "Both of you."

They fell silent as they navigated their way through the ship to the quarters Isaac set up to share with Raúl. Helping him into a chair, Raúl and Jasmine let him go before taking a few steps back and turning to look their handler over. He took a couple of seconds to shift around and settle before waving his hand at the bed. She moved over and perched on the edge of the bunk closest to him, and Raúl sat down not too far away from her.

"So, what'd I miss?" Isaac lifted a brow, shifting in the chair again.

Sucking in a deep breath, she rubbed her hands on her knees. "Nemos moved you behind cover once I confirmed your pulse, and Raúl tended to you while I worked with Avalina and Thane to stop Theodus' bleeding." She shrugged a shoulder, hoping to gloss over her showdown with Raúl. "Then I led us into the next area when Cerberus broke through. We—"

"She fought me for command, and the turian threatened to shoot me to back her up," Raúl said, cutting her off.

"He was just—"

"But," Raúl cut her off again, raising his voice above hers, "she did an excellent job, and the others didn't hesitate to follow her orders."

Jasmine stared at him, slack-jawed and wide-eyed. He didn't even glance her way, stare locked onto Isaac, face void of expression. Isaac chuckled, drawing her attention back to him as he shook his head. He waved his hand a little, gesturing for them to continue.

"We, uh … we cleared out the rest of the building, and I sent Nemos and Avalina to set the charges while we got you and Theodus to the shuttle. The facility on Gellix is nothing but a crater now."

Isaac bobbed his head and then winced, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Good. Was anyone else injured?"

"Nothing major, a few more scrapes and bruises while you were out." Raúl glanced at Jasmine, and she thought she saw something there … just a hint, maybe a tiny speck, of respect.

* * *

She stretched out on the bed next to Thane, safely back on the Citadel. The sting of mending flesh pinched at her as her movements and Medi-gel tugged at her healing bullet grazes. It hurt, yeah, but it was nothing compared to taking bullets full on. He stretched his arm out over her head, nudging her until she scooted closer, resting her cheek on his chest.

He hummed, fingers carding through her still-damp hair. "How is Isaac?"

"He's good," she muttered against his scales before turning her head a little so she might be better heard. "Dr. Michel gave him some anti-inflammatories and painkillers—which he probably won't use—and told him to take it easy."

"I'm glad to hear, siha," Thane said. "I know you were concerned for him."

"Yeah." She let the silence sit for a second, just savoring being there, soaking in his warmth. "How are  _you_  doing? Between Thessia, Cerberus, and the bomb Theodus dropped on you?"

"There has been quite a lot to take in, but I find I'm managing." He didn't say anything for a second, only ran his fingers through her hair. "It's—I don't know how I never suspected, never saw the resemblance to my uncle. And yet he's right, had he told me sooner, I would've suspected it was a trick of some sort."

"But you don't think that now, right?" She shifted enough to see his face.

"Not at all." He met her gaze. "I saw the difficulty he had confessing the truth to me, and I understand how poorly he was treated by our kind, especially his own family."

Brow furrowing, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"Ah …" His hand stopped combing her hair and settled on her shoulder instead. "… many drell foolishly believe albinism is a mark of a curse."

She frowned, brow pinching lower. "It's just a genetic anomaly."

"I know. As I said, it's a foolish belief, one which has lingered over the generations despite all evidence to the contrary." Letting out a heavy sigh, he shifted his hand to trail his fingers over her cheek. "I'm rather disappointed to learn Haset was not the man I believed him to be. Then again, I suppose I barely knew him at all, and even then, only through the eyes of a child."

Pursing her lips, she rested her face back against his chest. "Well, now you know he's family, maybe he'll start giving you a discount."

He chuckled, chest rising and falling beneath her, and it brought a smile to her face. Closing her eyes, she brought her hand up to rest over his sternum, feeling his heartbeat against her palm. A moment later, his other hand settled over hers, thumb brushing across the back of her hand. Sleep pulled at her, exhaustion winning over as her anxiety finally started to slip away, calm and at peace in Thane's arms.

"I love you," she mumbled, voice already thick with sleep.

His hand brushed over her head once more before settling back on her shoulder. "And I you, siha. With all that I am."


	10. Excursions into Hell

**Excursions into Hell**

Jasmine woke to the sound of hushed voices in the living room. Laying there a moment, she cocked her head to the side to listen, making out Thane and Theodus' particular cadences. Something about it soothed the ache in her soul, despite not being able to make out a single thing they said. She rolled over and stretched, spine popping half-a-dozen times with the movement. Thane's side of the bed felt cool to the touch; he must've been up for a while and decided to let her sleep in. She needed the extra sleep, but so did he. Yet she didn't find it at all surprising for his side of the bed to already be empty. Flipping the covers off, she crawled out of bed and made her way to the master bath. She turned the water on in the shower, letting it heat up while she relieved herself.

Once under the steaming-hot spray, she groaned, tight muscles soaking in the heat like a desert taking in rain after a long drought. She rolled her head and then her shoulders, helping to loosen the knots and ease the strains. Even her toes hurt. Gellix did a number on her; she really wasn't trained for sustained combat, but she'd damn well better get used to it if she intended to see it through to the end. Or until she died. Which, honestly seemed far more likely going against Cerberus.

She'd had regular nightmares a good chunk of her life, but the things she saw on Gellix would be taking center stage in her dreams for a long time to come. At the end of the day, though, it wasn't what she saw there haunting her the most but the idea of there actually being people capable of creating such horrors. People who thought they were doing something  _good_  by experimenting on living people, leaving them to rot away in cages, covered in tumors, flesh literally falling off their bones.  _Where_  was the good, and how could it  _ever_  be worth the cost?

After getting herself clean, she spent an extra few minutes under the water before reluctantly shutting it off and stepping out. She dried, dressed, and took her time brushing her teeth and hair before finally leaving the bathroom and heading to the living room. Thane and Theodus sat across from one another, a tea set on the table between them. The mouth-watering scents of  _cinuela_  filled the air. Both men turned to look at her, smiles on their faces. Thane held his hand out to her.

"Hey, Theo," she said, slipping her hand into Thane's and letting him lead her down to sit on the couch next to him.

The rich, baritone chuckle Theodus let out followed by a pained wince only served as a reminder of his injuries. "Theo?" He raised a brow ridge.

She grinned and popped her shoulder up. "Yep. Theo."

Thane smirked and leaned forward to fill a fresh cup with tea. "I think that means she likes you."

Blowing a raspberry, she huffed. "Do not."

"Ouch." Theodus splayed his hand out over his heart, and she grinned.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, taking a sip of  _cinuela_  when Thane handed her the cup.

"I've certainly been better, but the pain is manageable." A wry smile graced Theodus' mouth before he added, "I suppose I deserve it and worse for allowing my arrogance to endanger us all."

"Mmm." She leaned into Thane's side when he settled back against the cushion again, and she pulled her legs up onto the couch. "You're certainly not the first to end up in that position." She had two, lovely new scars, one in her abdomen and one in her shoulder, she could use to prove the point if he didn't believe her.

"Indeed." Thane lifted an arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her in closer as he brought his ankle to rest on the opposite knee. "We were just discussing whether or not Theo," he said, earning a chuckle from both Jasmine and Theodus, "should join us on future missions into Cerberus territory."

Expression carefully neutral, she took another swallow of  _cinuela_  and watched Theodus. "What are we thinking?"

It'd be a lie if she said she thought he should join them, but it wasn't entirely her choice to make. He didn't know how to defend himself and learning he was actually related to Thane made the idea of him dying out there significantly more troublesome. He did get them some good intel, though, and he'd even farmed the facility for credits, finding enough to fund at least one more excursion into hell before they'd have to rely on Isaac or pay their own ways again.

"I admit, I'm having second thoughts," Theodus said, bringing his cup up to his mouth just to hold there, "but I haven't quite decided as of yet."

Thane hummed, fingers tracing invisible patterns against her shoulder. "No one will blame you if you don't want to do this, Theodus."

_Well, Ares might give you shit, but he gives everyone shit. Raúl might, too, but fuck them both. Deal with it if it means you stay alive._

Theodus smiled and took a sip of his  _cinuela_. "I will."

She didn't really have anything to say in response. She'd always been harder on herself than anyone else, too. Most people probably were. Still, it was a dangerous job, and definitely not one he was trained for. He nearly died out there and nothing promised he wouldn't be hurt again … or that he'd survive a second time.

"It's not a decision to make lightly or for prideful reasons," Thane said.

* * *

"Okay, so … we have Akuze, the home of Project Evolution." Jasmine picked up one of the datapads sprawled out over Isaac's coffee table and started scrolling through the main list of locations they'd compiled. "Benning … but it's not really clear what they're doing there."

"But with as close as it is to the Arcturus Station, it can't be anything good." Raúl picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip before trading the cup out for a datapad. "Might even be something else the Alliance has coopted Cerberus for."

Taking a deep breath, she puffed out her cheeks and nodded at him. "Maybe."

Something about the man's disposition toward her changed since Gellix. It started with what he said to Isaac about her doing a good job taking command, but it didn't stop there. He wasn't exactly deferring to her or anything, but he did seem to value her input a hell of a lot more than before. And … the coldness in his eyes when he looked at her started to fade. She wondered how much of it was due to her behavior and how much simply because by actually admitting to her that she stirred up painful memories for him helped him to set those memories aside.

"Where else?" Isaac asked, pacing the floor behind the couch.

He'd barely sat down—at least in her presence—since they returned to the Citadel. Her gut told her the way things went down with the captives on Gellix didn't sit right with him, keeping him agitated and restless. It didn't really sit right with her, either. At the time, though, it seemed like the best option. The merciful option. Outside of the adrenaline and fatigue of battle … she wasn't so sure anymore. She didn't feel so sure about  _anything_  anymore.

"Binthu, where it seems they have three research stations. There's something on Nepheron, but we're not sure what, yet. They've got a base on Chasca where it looks like they're running experiments on the colonists." She sat back, running a hand over her head before letting it drop behind her to dangle over the back of the couch. "And, Theodus found information for a base on Noveria and another on Pragia while we were on Gellix. Pragia seems linked, somehow, to the biotics research on Gellix. Again, not really sure about Noveria."

"Alright. Raúl, coordinate with Theodus and Avalina. See what else you guys can pull up on Noveria and Nepheron. We're not hitting either of those locations until we know more about what to expect there. I think Chasca should be our next target." Isaac moved around the couch to sit down between her and Raúl. He picked up the datapad with the info on Chasca and propped an elbow on his knee, covering his mouth with his hand as he read. "It's not a well-populated planet, so it's unlikely the base there will be too big or it'd draw attention. And, if they're experimenting on the people who live there, then there are civilians who need our help. I pray to God we don't find them in the same condition."

Eyes squeezing closed, Jasmine pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to chase away the memories of Gellix. Her stomach roiled, and she picked up her coffee cup. Not that coffee was exactly ideal for an upset stomach, but it sure as hell helped her nerves. Tipping her head back, she drained the cup before putting it back on the table and taking a deep breath.

"Maybe we should invest some time in trying to figure out exactly what departments and what people within the Alliance are a part of this thing with Cerberus." Raúl sipped from his coffee mug again, meeting Isaac's gaze when they both looked over at him. "It's unlikely to be an organization-wide thing … maybe if we find the right people  _not_ involved, we can get some support in this whole thing."

The thought occurred to Jasmine more than once. Although things went far better than they might've on Gellix, it definitely wasn't a walk in the park. Theodus and Isaac both barely escaped with their lives, and every one of them walked away with at least  _some_  injury. The deeper they dug into Cerberus, the more colossal of a beast it appeared and the more hopeless the whole thing seemed. The less confident she felt about their decision to get involved without some serious backup, but she didn't really see a way to ferret out the good from the bad in the Alliance without bringing unwanted attention.

Pressing her lips together in a frown, she met Raúl's gaze. "How would we even begin to know who we can trust?"

"By starting with someone we already do," Isaac rubbed a hand over his face and sat back against the cushions.

"Who?" She twisted to look at him full on, eyebrow raised. "And don't say Geoffrey. That's never going to happen."

Face screwed up, he looked at her as if she were crazy—and maybe she was. "Of course not, Sunshine."

A tight knot deep in her chest loosened, and she let out a heavy sigh. Lifting a hand palm up, she asked, "Then who?"

"I don't know." He shook his head and rubbed his face again before letting his hand slap back down on his knee. "I'll give it some thought."

"So, we're hitting Chasca?" Raúl asked, and Isaac bobbed his head. Taking a deep breath, Raúl pushed himself up from the couch. "I'll get in touch with Avalina and Theodus, start looking for blueprints or something."

* * *

Thane looked up at Jasmine when she sat down on the bed not far from where he meditated on the floor, still struggling to get a grasp on his missing memories. So much remained hidden, and it filled him with sickly tendrils of dread, wrapping around his heart and choking him. She anchored him, though, the thing which kept air moving through his lungs despite the threat of death lurking just beyond the horizon.

"I meant to tell you when I found out, but then everything with Karin …." She cleared her throat and swallowed. "The turian couple Isaac and I spoke to on Earth said something about the collectors."

"Indeed?" A spark of hope shedding a little light through the darkness consuming his mind, he stood up and moved to sit on the edge of the bed next to her. "What did they say?"

Shoulders jerking up before falling slack once more, she shook her head. "Nothing really, they just mentioned that when the turian twin abductions first started, they thought the collectors were responsible. I wasn't really in a position to press for more info on it just then, but … it seems like they knew  _something_ about the collectors. Do you want me to try to get you in contact with them?"

He sat there in silence a moment, staring down at his empty palms. He hated to distract from their current goals of hunting down Cerberus, and he didn't want to create any turbulence between Jasmine and her new handler. However, he certainly would appreciate whatever insight into the collectors he might find. "Do you think Isaac will mind?"

"Theodus is the one who found them in the first place, so …" She laced her arm through his and leaned in, resting her forehead against his cheek. "… it's not like we've got some sort of claim on them as contacts."

"Indeed." Turning his face, he pressed his lips to her forehead. "I suppose if Isaac is amenable to sharing a contact, and they themselves are open to speaking with me, it might prove useful in finding some answers."

She hummed softly, nuzzling against him a moment. "Remembering anything new?" she asked, pulling back to meet his gaze.

"Unfortunately, no." A soft, regretful sigh slipped between his lips. He knew she felt concerned for him, and he wished he could soothe her mind as much as his. "At least nothing of any significance."

* * *

Jasmine glanced up at Avalina as they wove their way through the crowd. "How long has it been since you've visited the Citadel?"

"A few years." Avalina looked down, meeting Jasmine's gaze as a soft smile lifted her lips. "I believe Thane told you I followed him here once before?"

"Right, yeah." Jasmine sucked in a deep breath, the idea of Thane sitting down next to the corpse of the man who killed Irikah and just waiting for C-Sec to show up made her chest tighten. "Christ, I'm glad you did."

"As am I." Avalina turned her attention back to navigating through the masses, making sure the crate she pulled along beside her with her biotics didn't bump into anyone.

They were heading to Armax Arsenal to drop off Isaac's, Raúl's, and Jasmine's sets of armor for repairs. After, the two of them were going to go catch a show and hang out. Avalina would be heading back to Lusia until they were ready to make their move on Chasca, and Jasmine had a feeling it meant the asari would be spending all of her time in solitude, eyes glued to a computer screen. She thought Avalina could use some 'girl time' first, and, to be fair, Jasmine could use a bit of it herself.

Ares, unsurprisingly, disappeared pretty much the second their ship docked on the Citadel. He'd probably gone home to Charles, so Jasmine didn't really want to bother him just yet—let them have their reunion. She figured she'd stop by in another day or two, check in with them and let Ares know what plans were being set in motion. Thane and Theodus were spending time together, getting to know one another outside of the context of work, and Isaac and Raúl went to Bekenstein for a job. It left Jasmine with more free time than seemed healthy for her at the moment, making her grateful Avalina decided to stick around for a little while longer.

Stepping into Armax Arsenal, Jasmine and Avalina made their way to the counter where a turian stood working at a console. Avalina eased back her biotics, lowering the crate holding the armor onto the countertop. She looked the turian over while they waited for his assistance, not bothering to hide her approving hum.

He flicked a mandible, an amused smirk lifting his mouth plates even though his gaze remained steady on his work. "I'll be with you in just a moment."

Jasmine snickered, glancing up at the asari before turning her attention back to the turian. She agreed, he looked rather attractive. Gold rings slid down over the spikes of his crest stood out brilliantly against charcoal black plates, and yellow clan markings seemed to add depth to his green eyes. His body, tall and lean, carried the promise of speed and stamina.

"Take your time," Avalina said, turning to lean a hip against the counter before winking at Jasmine. "We're in no rush."

Letting out a soft chuckle, Jasmine mirrored Avalina's posture.

A moment later, the turian turned to them, putting his hands on the counter and smiling. "Welcome to Armax Arsenal. My name's Razik, how can I help you today?"

Shifting her weight, Jasmine set her hand down on the crate. "I need to drop off three sets of Predator L for repairs."

Razik pulled the crate closer and popped it open, glancing inside. "Were they purchased here?"

"Yeah." She opened her omni-tool, pulling up the account details Isaac sent to her.

Razik hit a couple of keys on the kiosk and nodded, so she transferred the details to the kiosk. He took a second to look over the information before turning his attention back to her and nodded. "I'll have them put in the queue. Is there anything else I can do for you today?" Glancing at Avalina, he flicked a mandible.

A slow, seductive smile spread over Avalina's face. "No, not today, I'm afraid."

He let out a soft rumble and turned his attention back to Jasmine. "We'll notify you when your armor is ready to be picked up."

She grinned and pushed away from the counter. "Thanks." Turning her attention back to Avalina, she asked, "Shall we?"

* * *

Jasmine and Avalina sat on the theater's roof, passing a bottle of asari honey mead back and forth between them. The Citadel was alive, bustling with activity, but it seemed a million light-years away from the secluded little spot they'd found for themselves.

"Karin was …  _good_. You know? The sort of honest, pureness some people just have. She'd see you, and the way she'd smile, you knew she was genuinely happy you were there." Jasmine took a drink, looking out over the skycars flying past the other end of the building, grateful for the moment of silence Avalina gave her to gather her thoughts. "When I first met her, I kind of hated her for it. I didn't believe it was real. Didn't think it  _could be_  real. Not with as fucked up as everything else in my life had been so far. I gave her a lot of attitude, but she didn't even let it faze her." She snorted, taking another drink before passing the bottle to Avalina. "I was such a terrible little bitch those first couple of weeks."

A soft chuckle floated on the air before Avalina asked, "How old were you?"

"Seventeen." Jasmine glanced over her shoulder at the asari. "To be fair, I was going through withdraw, but still …."

"You came to love her, though," Avalina said, setting the bottle on the roof between them before gently resting her hand on Jasmine's shoulder for a second, "and I'm sure she knew this."

"I did, yeah. She was one of the best people to have ever lived." Jasmine stretched out and leaned back on her palms. "The galaxy's a darker place without her. Even darker with this Cerberus shit going on. Kinda makes me hate being a human."

Avalina drew her legs up, wrapped her arms around her knees, and turned her head to meet Jasmine's gaze. "Humans aren't the first to do things like this. Every species has its outliers, individuals and groups with radical ideas and a ruthless will to see those ideas come to light no matter the cost."

Lips pursed, Jasmine nodded. "I know." And really, she did. It just didn't make anything feel any better. "Still, it pisses me off to see my own people doing it."

"Is that why you're so determined to stop Cerberus?" Brow lifting, Avalina studied Jasmine with piercing eyes, taking her measure. "Because they're human?"

"It's a part of it." Jasmine folded her shoulders inward. "But I wouldn't walk away from this no matter who they were."

"I'm glad to hear you say so," Avalina said, offering her a soft smile.

"Honestly, I'm a little surprised you wanted to be a bigger part of this." Jasmine hesitated a second before adding, "Especially after what you told me about how you felt after tracking down Tarava's killers."

"It certainly wasn't an easy decision." Avalina let out a heavy sigh, turning her attention out over the Citadel. "I don't see the world around me in such simple terms as good and evil—which is why I could never be a Juticar—but sometimes there are things which really can't be explained in any other way. The things we saw on Gellix … that was evil."

Lifting an eyebrow, Jasmine tilted her head to the side. "Justicar?"

"The Justicars are a monastic order. They're both revered and feared by other asari." Avalina picked up the bottle of honey mead and took a long drink, turning her attention to Jasmine as she set it back on the roof. "They're viewed as the most honorable of our people, and most would take the word of a Justicar to be true without question. Neither would they second guess the judgment of a Justicar or her sentencing and execution of those she deemed to be unjust. There is no middle ground with a Justicar. Everything is either just or unjust, and that which is unjust must be stopped. Often times with immediate death, though not always."

"Yikes." Jasmine picked the bottle up, tipping her head back and letting the sweet, thick, but mellow mead slide down her throat.

Avalina laughed. "They rarely leave asari space, you have nothing to fear from the Justicars."

"Unless work takes me into asari space." Jasmine handed the bottle over when Avalina reached for it.

"True." Avalina chuckled taking a swallow of the honey mead before handing it back to Jasmine.

* * *

Thane held out his arms to her, and she turned sideways as she settled down onto his lap. Tucking her arms in and drawing her legs up, she snuggled in closer, heat soaking through the leather of his vest to warm his side. He felt calmer with her there as if they were both safer with her next to him. Although he still couldn't pin down what or why, he knew deep down there was something he needed to protect her from; some great evil wanting to rip her away from his grasp and destroy her completely.

Pulling the blanket off the back of the couch, he draped it over her and then picked up the remote. "What do you want to watch?"

"I don't care." She shifted, tucking her head under his chin and resting her face against his chest. "You choose."

He hummed, turning on the vid screen before navigating to the menu selections. He didn't particularly care what they watched; he felt content for them to simply be spending quiet time alone. Since leaving Lusia, things had been a flurry of activity and stressful situations. He felt the residual effects in her still-tight muscles beneath his palm and his constantly wandering thoughts. It would be good to spend some time simply doing nothing, together.

He ran his fingers through the silken strands of her hair as he looked through the options on the vid screen. Each pass of his hand filled the air with the fragrance of her shampoo, helping to soothe him even more. Selecting a documentary about the history of humanity, he sat the remote back on the couch next to him, and she let out a soft snort.

Wrapping his arm around her, he rubbed the frills of his cheek over the top of her head and asked, "What?"

A gentle snicker floated through the air and she wriggled a little, pressing more of her body against his. Tone joyous and affectionate, she said, "Nothing. I love you."

"And I you, siha." Slipping a finger under her chin, he tipped her head back to brush his lips over hers, and it brought a smile to her face. He held her gaze a moment, studying the specks of deep brown in her irises before kissing her again, letting his lips linger a second longer as she brushed her thumb along the ridges of his cheek. Pulling her in closer, he settled his chin back on her head and turned his attention back to the vid screen.


	11. Black as Night

**Black as Night**

Jasmine ran her hands along Thane's bare, broad shoulders. Each scale a temptation, warm and smooth, catching the light with every ripple of his muscles. A smile slipped over her lips. "Don't hold back."

"As you wish." Using a knuckle beneath her chin, he tilted her head back and planted a chaste kiss on her mouth. He seemed to think twice about it, though, parting her lips with his tongue after a moment. After a couple of passes, he let out a regretful sounding groan and pulled away again. "Are you ready?"

She smirked and took a few steps back, falling into her fighting stance before jerking her head in a nod. He came at her as fast as lightning, palms hitting her chest and shoulder before she managed to spin out of the way. She aimed an elbow strike at his back, but he was gone before the hit landed. Pain flared in her calf, and she had to hop a moment to keep from being swept off her feet by his kick to her leg. She blocked his next strike, knocking his hand aside before countering, but he only rolled her wrist and hooked his ankle around hers, taking her to the floor.

Managing to get her legs wrapped around his waist, she locked her ankles and twisted, flipping them both to their sides, and aimed elbow strikes at his head, shoulders, and chest. He blocked most of them one-handed, using his other hand for leverage against the floor. He pushed himself up to his knees. She let go and rolled out of the way when he made a grab for her wrists, catching his soft chuckle as she popped back up to her feet.

She turned to face him, finding him already up and coming for her far quicker than she'd anticipated. Jesus Christ, the man was nothing but muscle and reflexes. Not having time to get out of the way, she dropped low and spun, sweeping her leg out at his feet. He jumped, arching over her and landing in a roll before popping up to a crouch. Planting his foot between her shoulder blades as she moved to adjust, he knocked her off balance, and she threw her hands out to catch herself before she wound up kissing the damn floor.

Throwing herself to the side, she rolled just in time to avoid a jab to her ribs. She rolled again, putting a little more distance between the two of them before doing a kip up and turning to face him once more. Moving back in, she delivered an onslaught of punches and kicks, forcing him back a few steps.

Concentration tightening his features, Thane pivoted and threw a jab, but she stepped aside, giving him nothing but air to connect with. "I'm impressed," he said, following the momentum to turn and strike again, missing her once more. "You're making significant improvements, siha."

"Yeah?" she said, smirking despite her breathlessness, thinking he was trying to distract her.

No underhanded move came, though, just a proud smile even as he lashed out again. "Indeed."

* * *

"The coordinates for this Cerberus facility puts it just a dozen or so klicks away from a civilian colony." Raúl pointed at the map on the screen, tracing a non-existent path between the two locations.

Gellix had them all thinking twice. They had to be smart going into Chasca. Cerberus was far more dangerous than any of them realized, and unlike on Gellix, innocent civilians and not merc bands inhabited the planet. Not only could they not risk exposure, but they needed to make sure there was no chance of anyone getting drawn into the crossfire.

Sucking in a deep breath, Jasmine let it out slowly and said, "That's probably where they're getting their test subjects, then."

"Mmmm." Isaac hummed and tipped his head to the side, studying the map. "Maybe. It'd be less conspicuous for them to take people from colonies further away, though."

"True." She leaned forward, shifting through the screens until she found the blueprints of the Cerberus compound. "I guess it's possible the people who run the research station live in the colony nearby. Unless they all just live on-site."

She really hoped they lived on-site. It would make life a whole lot less complicated. Although, if they did have to move through the colony to take out operatives asleep in bed, it sure would be more familiar territory for most of them.

"We could scope out the colony first." Raúl met her gaze when she looked up at him, and he shrugged. "See what we can find out, if anything, about the Cerberus base from the locals. Maybe someone knows something, or we'll find someone who's involved with Cerberus and can question them before hitting the base."

She had a feeling his thoughts ran parallel to hers—disturbing, but also encouraging.

"I would draw too much attention." Thane brushed his fingers absently over her shoulder even though he directed his statement at Raúl. "As would Avalina, Theodus, and Nemos. You would have to go in without us."

Isaac bobbed his head. "Fair enough. If we go that route, we can have you guys wait outside of the colony within comm distance. Just in case."

"Indeed," Thane said, the word simple and calm, and yet his hand closed around her shoulder and tugged, urging her in against his side as if the thought of her being out of his reach on Chasca made him uneasy.

She put her hand on his knee and gave him a gentle squeeze. Whatever happened to him on Thessia still had him shaken, and it left her feeling helpless. She didn't really have a clue how to help him other than to act as moral support. She'd sat with him and Theodus a couple of times, listening as he recounted his memories of the event and struggled to dig up more from the void. God, she wished she could get inside his mind and wrench free the memories for him … maybe … maybe an asari could.

_But he probably wouldn't even let Avalina anywhere near his mind._

"Alright." Nodding, Isaac glanced between Theodus and Raúl. "Find out everything you can about the colony."

"I already have," Theodus said, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips as he steepled his fingers in front of him.

Raúl huffed but didn't say anything. Jasmine disguised her grin by snuggling in against Thane.

Isaac chuckled and bobbed his head. "Let's hear it, then."

* * *

While the others discussed Chasca, Jasmine watched Isaac's quiet retreat into the kitchen. Back to the living room, he leaned against the counter next to the sink, head hanging between his shoulders. She tried to turn her attention to the conversation at hand, but his body language pulled at her, made her heart ache. After a minute or two, she excused herself and got up, making her way to the kitchen doorway.

"You alright, Bossman?" she asked, leaning against the wall and loosely crossing her arms.

"Hey, Sunshine." He turned just enough to look over his shoulder at her and gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking about Gellix."

Crossing the floor, she pulled herself up to sit on the counter next to him. Keeping her voice soft and sympathetic, she asked, "What else could we do?" She didn't need to ask for specifics, she knew exactly what troubled his mind. The same images haunted her dreams at night and crept in, bringing bile rising up in the back of her throat, during the quiet moments of the day.

_Really. Please tell me, what else we could've done? Because this is fucking me all up, too._

He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know … but I don't want us to keep handling things like that. We need a plan in place before we hit Chasca. A way to handle anyone we find inside Cerberus who needs our  _help_."

Lips pursed, she looked down at her toes for several, long seconds. Chasca wasn't well colonized, the habitable areas of the planet were minimal. It was unlikely the colonies would have full-scale health facilities available, and if they found people on Chasca who were in the same condition as those on Gellix … they'd  _need_  full-scale health facilities. If they couldn't call in the Alliance, who else was there?

She hummed, scrunching her nose a little as she looked at Isaac again. "If we can't figure out who inside of the Alliance we can trust … then … maybe we should talk to someone on the Council or something."

He turned and—much to her surprise and delight—jumped up to sit next to her on the counter. "I'm listening. Convince me."

She snickered and bumped him with her elbow. "Well … I mean, it's risky because Chasca's a human colony, and it'll seem odd we aren't going to our own people … but we can be relatively sure Cerberus isn't doing business with aliens. We saw what they did to the turians on Gellix, and there are those reports of them abducting asari …."

"Mhmm." He draped an arm over her shoulder and turned his palm out as he talked. "And by not going to the Alliance, we're telling everyone else that we don't trust the Alliance. We think they're involved. And, we'd be opening the door for classified information to make it into the hands of the Council."

She dragged out a loud puff of air, knowing it was a long shot and not a good plan. She just didn't really know what else to say. "So, what do we do? Find a human,  _not_  in the Alliance, who can handle the sort of shit we saw on Gellix?"

Shrugging, he let his hand fall limp, fingers just barely touching her arm. "Maybe."

"Maybe?" She arched an eyebrow, curious and confused.

"I'm still thinking on it." Silence sat between them for a full minute before Isaac said, "If we're going to keep doing this, we're going to need a ship of our own. And a crew to run the ship."

Blowing a raspberry, she thought he must be joking, but the look on his face said otherwise. She let out a low whistle. "You're serious? Damn. That's a tall order. Pricey, and not exactly low-key."

"If we can expect to find as many credits and sellable gear at the other Cerberus bases as we found on Gellix," he said, flipping his hand before letting it drop again, "it can help cut down on some of the costs."

She snorted. "Isaac. You know it won't scratch the surface."

"I do." He bobbed his head and glanced at her. "But it's not something you need to worry about."

"You can't be serious." She turned a little to face him more, and he dropped his arm from her shoulder. "Look, I know you're loaded, but you can't really just lay down enough credits to buy us a ship."

He chuckled and pulled her in against his side, palming the top of her head. "I won't have to. I can call in some favors, move some investments around …. It won't be anything too fancy, but it'll do the job. It'll be alright."

* * *

Thane smiled up at her as she sat a plate down in front of him. She looked calm. Relaxed and happy; something he'd seen so little of from her in recent times. It pained him to know she still struggled with so much, but he knew, given time, she'd move past it. She was strong, his siha, and he admired her perseverance greatly.

She grinned at him and pressed her palms to the table, leaning over to give him a soft kiss before retreating back into the kitchen. Pancakes, bacon, and eggs—so she called the meal—filled the plate in front of him. The scent of the fried meat made his mouth water and his stomach grumble, still, he wanted to wait until she returned before he started eating.

A moment later, she took her seat, settling her own plate in front of her and picked up a slice of bacon. "You didn't sleep very well last night," she said, taking her first bite. She chewed a moment, brow creasing. "Still dreaming about Thessia?"

"Indeed." Picking up a slice of bacon, he took a bite, humming as the salt and fat hit his tongue. After swallowing, he added, "It's a terribly slow process, but the memories are returning to me."

"What else have you remembered?" Drenching her pancakes in a thick, dark brown syrup, she picked up her fork.

A deep breath chased away the threat of slipping into the memories, and he took a drink of juice. "There was something coming off of the artifact. Smoke or fog of some kind, as black as night. It moved, seemingly of its own volition, in thick tendrils … seeking me out."

Fear flashing in her eyes, she swallowed but said nothing, only watched him.

"I can't … I can't remember, but I think they found me, siha." The sound of terror creeping in along the edges of his own voice made the muscles along his spine spasm.

She pushed out her chair, and he turned to her as she approached. She sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Her love and concern for him radiated through the tightness of her grip. He pulled her in closer, cradling her against his chest and pressed his face against her hair.

After a long moment of silence, she pulled back and held his gaze. Teeth worrying her lip, she seemed to mull something over in her mind. Finally, she swallowed and said, "I was thinking … what if Avalina can help you remember everything … with a meld?"

He blinked several times, the suggestion catching him by surprise. He'd never considered the possibility, not that he wasn't aware it  _was_  a possibility, only that he'd never melded with an asari. Any asari. And he held no intention of ever doing so. Surely, Jasmine understood the weight of what she asked of him. He didn't feel at all comfortable with the idea, not even with Avalina.

But the pleading look in Jasmine's eyes left him even more disquieted.

Letting out a sigh, he reached up and took her face in his hand, guiding her down. He kissed her forehead before resting his own in the same spot. "I'm not—perhaps if I give myself more time …. If it becomes a necessity, I will ask her. But not yet."

* * *

Thane rang the buzzer to Isaac's apartment and tucked his hands behind his back. A moment later, the camera activated, the soft whir informing him it'd been repositioned to look at him. He suppressed a frown and allowed himself to be scanned by the device, not wishing to make Isaac ill at ease. They seemed to be getting along rather well, but Thane understood how his presence might continue to disturb the other man, and he didn't want to do anything to add to his discomfort.

The door opened, and Isaac leaned against the frame, eyebrow cocked. "Thane?"

"Might we speak for a moment?" Thane willed himself to relax, allowing his emotions and natural expressions to be seen. He wanted to offer Isaac transparency—as much transparency as he felt capable of, at least. He still needed to protect the confidentiality of those who hired him, particularly when it came to  _Nara_  Stelak, but sharing parts of himself with Isaac might help to build trust.

Isaac pursed his lips and nodded, stepping away from the door and waving a hand toward the couch. "Sure. You want something to drink?"

"Ah. Water, please." Thane stepped inside, dipping his head. "My thanks."

"Yeah, no problem." Isaac closed the door and left Thane to seat himself as he headed into the kitchen.

The apartment surprisingly looked very little like the one Thane shared with Jasmine on the same level of the building. An open floor plan created the illusion of more space, but truthfully, it appeared to hold the same overall dimensions. Instead of a hall leading to bedrooms, a loft overhang started roughly halfway into the apartment, a wardrobe clearly visible above the half-wall. The kitchen, likewise, lay completely open to the living room, and the only two doors other than the entrance appeared to lead to a bathroom and a closet.

It was simple, yet elegant in design. Aesthetically pleasing, yet not at all what Thane expected Isaac to choose for himself. The apartment was too well lit with too few places to hide.

_Interesting._

After mentally mapping the layout of the apartment, Thane walked to the couch and perched on the edge. "Thank you," he said with a smile when Isaac returned and handed him a bottle of cold water. "Forgive my curiosity, but I find it intriguing you would choose an apartment with little strategic advantage in its design."

The man nodded, the odd rhythm beginning to take on a discernible, predictable pattern to Thane's eye. Isaac chuckled and opened his own bottle of water. "I wanted to make sure I was close to Jasmine and Raúl. This is what the place had, but I wasn't going to put either of them in this unit."

_Ah._

"Of course. I hadn't considered, but I suppose it makes sense for you to prioritize their safety in every decision." Thane gave him a wry smile. "I must say, you certainly have proven yourself to be a far better handler for Jasmine than Leon. As well as a better friend."

"Honestly, after everything I've learned about him since taking her on, I'm surprised you weren't the one to take him out with the way he treated her." Sitting in the chair across from the couch, Isaac sat back and braced an ankle over the opposite knee. "What can I do for you?"

Thane thought to explain how little he knew of Leon before the man's death. Perhaps confess to his urge to harm Leon a few times while posing as Saman. Certainly, Thane indulged in dark fantasies about Leon after his death and learning what he'd done to Jasmine. Clearly, Isaac had moved on, however, so it was a conversation best left for another time.

"I thought it might be preferable if I spoke with you alone, though Jasmine offered to make the request on my behalf. I wouldn't want you to feel compelled to agree because of her presence." Thane cleared his throat and opened the bottle of water, watching Isaac's passive expression as he took a drink. "She mentioned the contacts the two of you spoke with on Earth suspected the collectors were involved with the turian abductions before learning of Cerberus."

A faint twitch drew Isaac's brows in a fraction. "They did, yeah."

Thane didn't know what Isaac expected he might want, but it appeared a discussion involving the collectors missed the mark entirely. Yet he did seem to expect something. Curious.

"I'm greatly interested in speaking with them in regards to whatever they may know about the collectors. The collectors are … involved, somehow, in a recent contract of mine which has stirred up some issues I feel I must look into." Thane took a deep breath and waved a hand toward Isaac. "I wished to clear it with you before I attempted to communicate with contacts you established."

Without saying anything for a few moments, Isaac watched him, face void of expression. "Will it interfere with what we're doing?"

"Not in any way I foresee." Thane shook his head. He understood all too well the importance of their mission, and he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their dismantling of something as vile as Cerberus.

"And if I say no?" Isaac asked.

A cold feeling sank into the pit Thane's stomach as the hope of a new lead started slipping through his fingers. He prayed Isaac was only testing him, but he couldn't say for certain. Either way, his answer remained the same. "Then I will respect your wishes."

Isaac raised an eyebrow and twirled a hand in small circles. "Even though Theodus—who I'm told made some sort of confession implying family ties to you while I was out cold—is the one who identified the contacts for me?"

_Ah. I suppose this changes things for you, doesn't it?_

"He is … my cousin." The word still didn't roll off the tongue with ease. Thane had a cousin— _Theodus_  was his  _cousin_. Sweet Arashu. "Although I assure you, it came as a complete surprise to me. However, our kinship is irrelevant in this instance."

"You really didn't know?" Isaac asked, tone incredulous enough to sting. "It doesn't seem possible."

Thane looked down at his hands for a moment. "When I went into the Compact as a child, my uncle had no children." He met Isaac's gaze and turned an empty palm up. "The training … was intense and required massive amounts of focus. It isn't uncommon for children in the Compact, especially those being taught the skills I learned, to have little to no contact with their family. Many of us fail to reconnect after our training ends."

Isaac sighed and sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I'll reach out to them, see if they're willing to speak with you."

"Thank you, Isaac." Thane stood, capping his bottle of water.

"Wait." Isaac stared at him a moment, lips slightly parted before asking, "Is this going to affect Jasmine?"

Thane looked down at his feet. "I pray to every god willing to listen that it does not."

* * *

The heat of the fireplace drew Thane in, that much had been obvious since he showed up at her apartment after dealing with the crap on Thessia. Whenever she wasn't sitting snuggled up against his side on the couch, he gravitated to the chair next to the fire or simply just stood in front of the hearth. Theodus seemed to be pulled to the flames as well. Jasmine supposed it was something instinctual, what with them being reptilian and from a desert planet. Still, it was kind of interesting to watch, and she wondered if it was something they were even consciously aware of themselves.

So when she finished her shower, she wasn't surprised to find Thane standing in front of the fire with his eyes closed and his head tipped back. She stood there for a moment, watching him in the silence with a smile on her face. Christ, he was beautiful. Sexy as all hell, yes, but just …  _beautiful_ , too. Sometimes, when she looked at him, in the moments when he was lost in his own world and unaware of her staring, she wasn't entirely sure he even really existed. He was just too perfect to be real.

But he was, and he was hers. And the evil thing on Thessia couldn't have him.

Turning back around, she made her way to the bedroom and gathered up the pillows and blankets. She dragged them into the living room with her and dropped them in the chair next to the fireplace. He turned and looked at her, curiosity clear in his eyes, but he didn't ask any questions. Offering him a soft smile, she started laying out the sheets and blankets, making them a pallet on the floor.

She settled down on the blankets and reached out to him. He grinned and moved to her, taking her hand in his before sitting next to her. Slipping his hand free, he pressed his palm to her cheek and leaned in, kissing her. Movements languid, their tongues slid over one another, and he wrapped his other arm around her waist.

His touch called to her, tugged at the invisible, golden string tying their souls together.

He was her fire.

She closed the distance between them, crawling over to climb onto his lap. Hand slipping beneath her tank top, he splayed his fingers out over her ribs and tightened his arm around her. Cradling the back of his neck with one hand, she gently kneaded his shoulder and back with the other, caressing his smooth scales. He hummed softly and shifted his hand from her face to bury his fingers in her hair, closing his fist around the strands and tearing a whimper of a moan from her throat.

"I love you," she whispered when his lips left hers.

Trailing his tongue down her neck before nipping at her jaw, he nuzzled against her, breathing deeply. "And I you." Using his grip on her hair, he guided her head back, exposing more of her throat to his explorations.

She moaned again when his teeth scraped over her skin and felt him growing hard against her. Closing her eyes, she pulled his patchouli and mint scent deep into her lungs and held it there, letting it fill her completely. She wanted it to become a part of her forever. Wanted  _him_  to be a part of her forever. She brought a hand to the side of his face, stroking her fingertips over his frills and down his throat.

"Make love to me, siha. Here, by the fire," he said, voice somehow both sandpaper and silk next to her ear.

Tugging at the spikes of his crest, she urged him back to her for another kiss. Breaking away, she tugged at his lower lip with her thumb before kissing him again. Gently, she pushed him back, encouraging him to lay down on the pallet. She let her gaze roam over him, fingers brushing over his chest, as she savored the way his scales glowed in the firelight. Beautiful. She leaned down, rubbing her face against his frills before nipping at his jaw, and he tangled his fingers in her hair, cradling her head and holding her against him.

The taste and tingle of his venom on her lips and tongue warmed her almost as much as the fire, despite her supplements working to keep the hallucinations at bay. Taking her time, she trailed her tongue along his frills, stopping to nip and kiss here and there. His throat vibrated against her teeth with his soft moans and hums, the sounds slithering over her skin in the most delightful way. She moved down, fingers and tongue tracing the stripes over his shoulder and chest. Rocking her hips, she rubbed against him, reveling in the hitch in his breathing and the shock of pleasure between her legs.

Shifting off of him, she hooked her fingers into his waistband and worked his pants down over his hips. She trapped her lip between her teeth as she watched the slow reveal, the anticipation building in her every nerve. Freeing him completely, she tossed the pants aside and rubbed her palms over his thighs. She met his gaze, and the heat she saw in his eyes had nothing to do with the fireplace.

She smiled and lifted her tank top off over her head, letting it drop to the blanket next to him. Bracing her palms on either side of his ribs, she lowered herself, dragging her breasts over his stomach and chest before capturing his lips with her own. His tongue met hers, diving into her mouth, hungry and urgent. She lingered there a moment, tasting him, breathing in his scent, and feeling the firmness of his magnificent body against hers.

Pushing back up to her knees, she wiggled out of her panties before straddling his legs. Wrapping a hand around his rock-hard shaft, she took him into her mouth. He tensed beneath her, breaths staggered, and then he caressed her cheek. She swirled her tongue around the tip of his dick before pushing down further, licking and sucking as she pumped her hand up and down.

She took her time. There wasn't any reason to rush. He asked her to make love to him, and that's exactly what she intended to do. She wanted him to savor the moment, to really take in her every touch. She wanted him to feel the love she poured into him.

He was her heart.

It wasn't long, though, before his thighs trembled with his restraint, and he called out to her, voice heavy and pleading. She let him go, giving him one last, good lick before kissing his stomach. She worked her way back up his body, hands and lips taking in every last bit of him within reach. Perching above him, she wrapped her hand around him again and lined him up. She took her time there, too, sliding his erection back and forth, getting it nice and slick before lowering herself.

Her breath caught in her throat as he filled her, and a shudder ran through her, making her moan. He cupped her breasts, squeezing and rolling before trapping her nipples between his fingers. Settling down all the way, taking in as much of him as possible, she sought out his mouth. Grabbing her ass, he lifted her, easing her along his length as his tongue explored hers. He urged her back down again, lifting his hips to meet her, and they moved together, setting a slow but intense pace, each thrust pushing him just a little deeper inside of her. Filling her heart just a little fuller.


	12. War Council

**War Council**

Jasmine leaned against the wall and pushed the buzzer for Ares and Charles' apartment. She'd sent Ares a message earlier on letting him know she'd come by at some point, she just wasn't sure when. He hadn't bothered to respond, which really, all things considered, didn't surprise her one bit. After a few moments, the door opened, and Charles gave her one of his killer smiles. She returned his grin, lifting her hand in a wave.

"Uh," he said, glancing back over his shoulder, " _Ramona_ , hey."

The emphasis on her alias wasn't necessary; he really needed to learn subtlety. She appreciated the heads up, nonetheless. Tipping her head back, she gave him a slight nod to let him know she'd caught his drift. She figured Cammus must be around, or maybe just another friend of his.

What she totally didn't expect, not even a little, was to see a much more familiar face peer around the edge of the wall. She blinked, a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions whipping through her faster than she kept up with. Dizziness hit, leaving her speechless and stunned while she tried to make sense of seeing her favorite, little, turian duct rat there.

Finally, she blinked again and managed to let his name tumble from her lips. "Talak?"

Fluttering his mandibles, he stepped out where she could fully see him. Expression turning sheepish, he rubbed the back of his neck as if he thought he'd done something wrong. Bringing his hand around to his face, he scratched at his freshly scrubbed plates before glancing behind him. She followed his gaze to Ares as the massive turian rounded the corner, fiddling with something in his hands.

She blinked again, her gaze shifting between the three of them as she assessed the situation. The kid was calm, he didn't seem to be in any trouble. Ares obviously didn't have a problem with him being there. But  _why_ was he there?

Scrambling to regain her composure, she cleared her throat and slapped a smile back on her face. Returning her attention to Charles, she asked, "You going to make me stand out here all day?"

"Shit, sorry." He laughed and shuffled out of her way.

Ares rumbled as she stepped over the threshold before glancing down at Talak, offering the kid the omni-tool band he held between his talons. He pulled the cigarette from his mouth, blowing smoke out to the side before he said, "It's downloading right now, so you won't be able to use it until it's done. Should be an hour or so."

Talak nodded and slipped the omni-tool on his wrist. They stepped back, clearing the way, and she made her way into the living room. Gaze falling on stacks of boxes and bare walls, she stopped in her tracks. The vid screen, unmounted from its previous location, sat propped against the wall.

She glanced up at Ares, lips parting as pieces of the puzzle started slipping into place. Obviously they were moving. Maybe Ares just paid the kid to help out, doing Talak a favor. Still, she needed to know for sure—needed to make sure the duct rat wasn't in trouble.

"Hey, kid." She glanced back down at Talak and forced a lightness to her voice she didn't entirely feel at the moment. "What are you doing here?" She knew she'd flooded the air with the scents of confusion, fear, and a touch of anger the second her gaze landed on Talak. Still, she hoped the question came across as casual curiosity.

Mandibles fluttering, he shrugged. "I'm helping them pack … and doing a few other things to help out."

_Thank God._

She glanced around again, and her gaze snagged on a box marked with Talak's name. Oh. He wasn't just helping ….

Pursing her lips a little, she nodded. "Cool." And she realized it was. "You staying here now?"

Even though he wasn't the poster child for stability, she trusted Ares to be good to the boy. Certainly it'd be better than Talak continuing to struggle to survive as a duct rat.

He let out a soft, worried sounding trill. "I saw Ares and Charles, and I thought maybe since you know Ares, it'd be okay to ask …."

Tense muscles finally unwinding, she smiled and reached out to pat his back. "I'm glad they're able to help you out."

"You make it sound like I would've left him on the street." Ares huffed, following it up with an equally indignant sounding hum. "He wanted work, we found him some."

She looked at Ares and drew her brows in. Snorting, she shook her head, wondering how it was he always found a way to turn everything sour. Nevermind the fact he  _did_  leave Talak to the streets, and so did she. She  _was_  genuinely happy Talak found someone to take care of him.

"No, I didn't. Stop reading into shit that isn't there." A smile slipped easily onto her face as she found her footing once more. "You know I think better of you than that." She winked at him; her way of telling him that she really was good with the arrangement. "I was just a little confused, is all. It's not like  _I_  pulled a gun out on  _you_ ," she said, reminding him of how  _he_  reacted when he found her with Charles.

He gave her a dubious sounding hum before nodding. "So, do you at least want to get out of the entry and go somewhere less cramped?"

She looked down at Talak, taking in his new clothes and molt-free plates, and gave him a devious grin. "I don't know, should I?"

Talak flicked a mandible, seeming to relax along with the rest of them. "Probably. He's a lot bigger than you."

Snorting, she brought her hand back to his shoulder, urging him to walk with her as she moved out of Charles' way. "He's a lot bigger than everyone." She looked around the room again. "So … moving?"

The thought crossed her mind they might be moving because she'd learned where Ares stayed while on the Citadel, and he still didn't trust her enough to have open access to him or Charles. Even though it seemed like he was alright with her hanging out with Charles—with or without him—it wouldn't surprise her to learn his paranoia changed his mind. It'd be a lie to say the thought didn't sting.

Ares shrugged. "Need a bigger place. I can't store anything here."

She hummed and nodded, letting her hand slip away from Talak as she moved to sit sideways on a bar stool. Charles made his way into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator before handing her a cold beer. He watched her with the same mix of curiosity and wariness as he had since the moment he realized she was an assassin. Sure, she and Charles had some bonding time, but she had the feeling he'd never trust her completely.

_Fair enough, not like I'll ever trust him completely, either._

She popped the top off the beer and took a swallow before asking, "Need any help?"

* * *

She'd spent some time helping Charles pack up clothes and an impressive assortment of old comic books while Talak carried boxes to the living room. When she heard Ares leaving the apartment, though, she excused herself to follow him. She needed to talk to him about their next attack on Cerberus, and it definitely wasn't something she wanted to discuss with young, turian ears around. Outside, she'd hopped up into the opened truck to help Ares, carrying the boxes he handed her to the back of the truck.

Rumbling, Ares handed her another box. "Should you be working with your shoulder? Or do I get the pleasure of a good lecture for enabling you?"

She chuckled, setting the box down with the others. "I've been cleared for active. Doctors say it's good to use it, helps regain lost strength and mobility." Moving back to the edge, she glanced around, making sure no one else strayed within ear shot. "We've chosen the next target. Not ready to move on it yet, though. Still planning things out. I thought you might want to come around and sit in on our little war council, help make plans?"

He nodded, setting a small box down at her feet. "Just give ma a time and place."

Squatting down, she picked the box up and wedged it under her arm. "Tomorrow evening. I'll message you with the exact time later, after I check on a couple of things. I'll have dinner for everyone at my place." She turned to carry the box to the back.

"Make sure there's enough."

She grinned, glancing over her shoulder as she set down the box and headed back to him. "Any special requests?"

"Meat …. Don't really need to be specific." He handed her another box and shrugged.

"Meat it is. And lots of it." After stacking the box on top of the others, she turned to look at him, waiting for him to meet her gaze before she said. "It's really good you're taking the kid in."

* * *

"Hey. Razik, right?" Bending over the counter, elbows pressed to the surface, Jasmine grinned at the Armax Arsenal clerk.

Mouth plates quirking in a grin, the turian flicked a mandible. "You remembered my name. I'm flattered." He hummed, glancing around the store behind him before mirroring her posture. "Where's your friend?"

"She had some things to take care of off the Citadel." She chuckled and winked at him. "But I'll be sure to tell her that you asked about her."

"Hmmm. You do that." He pushed off the counter and glanced at his kiosk. "Give me your account information again, and I'll get your crate pulled and loaded in your skycar for you."

"Thank you." She opened her omni-tool and pulled up the info, sending it to his kiosk.

He scanned the screen, tapping a few keys before nodding. Heading to the back, he disappeared through a door. Jasmine leaned her hip against the counter and turned her attention to the comings and goings of people walking the Citadel beyond Armax Arsenal. Just outside of the entrance, an asari and salarian stood close together, talking animatedly about the DNA sequencing of something called a yahg.

A few moments later, Razik returned with a hovering cart, the crate of armor sitting on top. He directed it over to her and waved his hand at the door. "Lead the way."

Together they left Armax Arsenal and made their way to her waiting skycar—well, Isaac's skycar. She opened the hatch and watched as the turian maneuvered the crate into the back. When he finished, he closed the hatch and leaned against the vehicle, crossing his arms loosely over his chest and narrowing his eyes at her.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Uh … thanks?"

He let out a soft chuckle, mandibles fluttering. "When you came in the other day, I thought I recognized you, but I wasn't sure from where. I think I've figured it out now."

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, mind scrambling to place Razik's face. She didn't remember him from anywhere other than the store. Who was he? Where did he know her from? "Yeah? Where's from?" she asked, a little proud of how calm she sounded.

"Mhmm. I think I saw you and some of your friends going into the arena a couple of times." He hummed and flared his mandibles. "You bought out my slot for a private combat."

"Ah." She huffed a weak laugh and leaned against the skycar. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright. You can make it up to me." He smirked and flicked a mandible.

She chuckled, both eyebrows lifting. "Is that so?"

"You, me, at the arena. Tomorrow, ten CST." He pushed off the skycar, smirking at her as he turned. "You're buying lunch afterward."

"Is this supposed to be a date? Because I'm already with someone," she called after his retreating form.

He turned his head just enough to look at her from over his shoulder. "Not a date. Bring the lucky drell, if you'd like."

_Damn turians and their superpowered sense of smell._

* * *

"Will you go?" Thane ran his fingers along Jasmine's spine, marveling at the softness of her bare skin. He thought he could spend the rest of his life touching her and never quite grow used to just how amazing she felt. He prayed she gave him the opportunity to test his hypothesis because he never wanted to let her go.

"I don't know. Maybe." She scooted in closer, rested her hand on his chest, and pressed her warm lips against the scales covering his ribs.

The affectionate gestures brought a smile to his face, and he stroked the curve of her shoulder. "Perhaps you should." He lifted enough to kiss the top of her head.

"Why do you say that?" she asked, tipping her head back to look at him as he settled against the pillows.

"You've endured a significant amount of stress lately, and there is so much more to come." So much more he desperately wished he could protect her from. "It might be nice for you to take some time to do something simply for the sake of enjoyment." Truly, he'd given up on the idea of her quitting her profession, but it didn't mean he didn't want her to have something  _more_  in life. He wanted her to laugh and have fun, and the turian she spoke of sounded like a normal, average man who simply wanted to make friends.

She pushed up on her elbow, looking down at him with a mischievous smile on her face and an adoring sparkle in her eyes. "I just did  _you_  for the sake of enjoyment."

Chuckling, he entwined his fingers in her hair and brushed his thumb across her cheek. "Go, siha. I will happily join you if you wish."

After a moment she nodded and leaned over to give him a soft, chaste kiss. "Okay. I'll go if you go."

"It's settled, then." He pulled her back to him, capturing her lips once more. "We should get ready for Theodus' arrival."

A gentle sigh slipped from her lips, and she settled back down against him. "Give me a few more minutes."

"Of course." He tightened his arm around her, caressing her shoulder.

* * *

Thane welcomed Theodus with an embrace, noting the subtle shift in the man's scent at the affectionate, physical contact. Thane understood the feeling all too well. He'd spent many, many years emotionally withdrawn, even when not in his battle sleep. He rarely made contact with anyone outside of killing strikes against a target, and those times he did touch another, it was out of necessity. Irikah changed everything for him, but then she died, and he returned to his battle sleep. Jasmine awoke him once more, and only then did he realize how starved for affection he'd been. Her touch felt divine, and still, he couldn't get enough.

Theodus gave him a last squeeze and patted his shoulder before stepping back to smile at Thane. "I smell espresso."

Chuckling, Thane put his hand on Theodus' back and turned the man toward the kitchen. "Indeed."

Jasmine bought an espresso machine shortly after their return from Gellix. She'd said she wanted to make Theodus feel more welcome; to feel like family. The notion warmed Thane's heart. Family. Theodus was his family, but so was she, and he hoped to one day sanctify their union. It was still too soon and with far too much going on for him to ask for her hand in marriage, but he knew beyond a doubt it was something he wanted. Arashu willing, Jasmine wanted it, too.

She looked up from the machine and smiled as they entered the kitchen. "Hey, Theo." She picked up one of the steaming cups she'd filled and crossed the floor, handing it to Theodus. "Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes."

Breathing deeply of the rich aroma, a soft yet sad smile tugging at his lips, he brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. "Is there anything I can help with?"

"Nope." She made her way back to the counter and picked up her own cup, cradling it between her palms. "We've got it all under control. It's pretty much just waiting now." Nodding her head toward the living room, she added, "Go, sit down. Enjoy your espresso." She looked at Thane, beautiful eyes sparkling in the light, and smiled. "You, too. I'll be in there in a minute."

He leaned in to give her a kiss and brushed the backs of his fingers along her jaw. "As you wish." Turning, he ushered Theodus into the living room.

"So, cousin," Theodus said as he took a seat in the chair next to the fireplace, "tell me about your son."

Thane paused in the process of sitting on the couch, breath catching in his throat, heart skipping a beat. He looked up and met Theodus' gaze. "Ah. Of course. How long have you known of Kolyat?" he asked, perching on the edge of the cushion.

A wry smile lifted Theodus' lips, and he took a sip from his cup. "Within weeks of our introduction. As soon as I realized who you are, I began looking for confirmation. My apologies, Thane. It pained me deeply to learn of your loss. I hope you trust I've told no one of what I learned."

Thane watched him for a moment, letting the silence linger until he realized that yes, he did trust Theodus. "Indeed." He took a deep breath and settled back onto the couch. "Kolyat is fourteen now. He … he wants to follow in his mother's footsteps and become a medical researcher." A proud grin lifted his lips as he thought of his son's ambitions. "He hopes to find a cure for Kepral's Syndrome."

Theodus smiled, sipping from his cup. "He lives with his mother's family, yes?"

"Indeed." Thane dipped his head. "Irikah's brother, Rone, and his wife take care of him. He lives with them. His other uncle spends a lot of time with him as well. His aunt, not so much. She … she is busy with her own family."

Jasmine came into the living room and sat down next to Thane, tucking her legs beneath her. "He's a great kid," she said, setting her cup on the table.

"Ah, that's right. You visited Kahje with Thane not too long ago." Theodus nodded. "Does Kolyat know of your relationship the two of you share?"

"He does," Thane said. "He didn't take it well, at first, but he has come to terms with the fact his father has fallen in love again." Hesitating only a moment, he added, "I think I'd like for you to meet him sometime. He knows so little of my family and has never met any of my kin."

Fear flitted across Theodus' face, but then he smiled. "I would be honored."

* * *

"Well, Armax employees don't have to pay for use of the arena, so really, you didn't cost me anything more than time." Razik grinned, flicking a mandible at her. "It's just more fun when you have people to strategize with while in the simulator." He let out a long, low rumble, mandibles flicking with his amusement. "And, I got you to buy me lunch. What is it you humans say? Icing on the cake?"

Jasmine snorted and picked up her glass of iced tea, taking a swallow before saying, "Yeah. Fair enough. I had a good time, so no complaints here."

"Indeed." Thane smiled at her before dipping his head to the turian. "You are quite the skilled biotic. It surprises me to find you working on the Citadel as opposed to being assigned to a Cabal unit."

"I was with the Cabals, for a time." Razik's mandibles flared before snapping tight against the side of his face. He turned his attention to his plate, cutting a bite from his steak. "Things didn't work out."

Clearly a sore spot for Razik, it naturally made Jasmine all the more curious. She didn't want to pry, though, and it didn't seem like Thane had any interest in doing so, either. They'd only just met, and as chill of a guy as Razik seemed to be, there was no reason why he'd want to get into his personal life with them. In fact, there was still no real reason for her to trust his interest in her was genuine friendliness and not a front for some covert operation. Perhaps something to do with her and Isaac's Blackwatch job?

As unsettling of a thought as it was, it didn't seem to carry the ring of truth to her ears. Oh, she had no doubt there was more to the turian than met the eye, but he didn't seem to have any interest in ruining her day with either bullets or biotics. A fact she was more than grateful for; she had enough shit on her plate already.

"So, you get into the arena for free, but what kind of discount do you get at the store?" She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "And, more importantly, are you willing to share your employee discount with your new friends?"

Razik chuckled, pausing with a bite halfway to his mouth. "A modest fifteen percent," he said with a hum, "and not unless you have a replacement job waiting for me when I get fired." Chuffing, he shook his head. "Although, it's probably going to happen sooner or later, anyway, so …."

"Trouble at work?" she asked.

"Hmm. Trouble at life." He picked up his glass of beer and sat back in his chair, gaze drifting between her and Thane for a second before he flicked a mandible. "I've never done well with authority figures who have no respect for their subordinates and issue idiotic commands. It was a problem in the Cabals, and it's an issue at Armax."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Jasmine speared some of her salad on her fork, Leon's smug smile dancing in the back of her head. "I've been there myself a time or two."

* * *

Jasmine waited for Ares to show up before she even considered opening the packages holding the ingredients for his dinner. She knew the edgy turian was far too paranoid to eat something she prepared around people he didn't really know and without him being present. It was a good thing his dinner request was so simple, he prefered his meat raw to mostly raw, and she only had to cook dextro for one. Everything else was nearly done—the  _elyine_  tenderloin smelled heavenly—by the time she got started on Ares' dinner.

Unsurprisingly, he lingered in the kitchen as she cooked, smoking his cigarettes and staying away from the rest of her guests. He didn't really say much, though it didn't come as a surprise, either. Once or twice, he grumbled something about her taking too long and ventured close enough to her workspace to steal a slice of raw xemna from the cutting board. She just snorted and shooed him away.

When everything was finally finished, Thane and Isaac set the table while she carried things in from the kitchen. The whole 'eating at the dining room table' thing seemed to stir something in Theodus, and the skittishness he'd put behind him after his confession to Thane returned. She offered him a warm, reassuring smile when she caught his eye and made sure he had a place to sit between her and Thane. It was the closest thing to comfort she could really offer him, and Thane seemed to understand, even if he might've prefered to sit next to her.

Ares chose a seat at her other side, eyeing Raúl like a predator tracking prey until Isaac claimed the open chair next to Ares, effectively removing it as an option for Raúl. Jasmine breathed a soft sigh, grateful Avalina wouldn't be coming in person. It'd make the dinner table a whole lot more crowded and Ares a whole lot more irritable. She wondered how he'd react when they called Avalina on the dining room vidscreen next to the table; Avalina was a vital part of the … team, and they needed her input.

Jasmine mostly ate in silence, listening to the idle chatter around her and occasionally jumping into the conversations. There seemed to be an unspoken, mutual agreement for no one to talk of business until forks scraped against ceramic, scooping up the last morsels from dinner plates. As she finished, she felt Isaac's gaze on her, and he gave her a subtle nod when she looked up.

Setting her fork down, she took a drink from her wine glass and glanced at Thane, gently clearing her throat. "Will you call Avalina and put it up on the vidscreen?"

"Certainly." He stood, opening his omni-tool as he rounded the table.

Ares grumbled a little a lit a cigarette. Turning his chair enough to see the vidscreen with his good eye, he otherwise remained just as relaxed as he'd been throughout dinner—as much as it might be said he'd relaxed at all—which came as a relief to Jasmine. A moment later, Avalina's smiling face appeared on the screen, her gaze sweeping over the group before settling on Thane.

"Avalina, it's good to see you," Jasmine said, drawing the asari's attention to her. "Thank you for joining us."

"Of course." Avalina tipped her chin to the side a fraction and dipped her head. "Are we prepared to make our next move? Shall I return to the Citadel?"

"Soon, in a few days." Jasmine shifted a little, resting an elbow on the back of her chair. "We have some other things to discuss. First, I wanted all of you to know ahead of time," she said, glancing around the group, "Malcolm has … acquired us a ship and basic crew. It'll be docked here in three days, and we'll be good to go in four. Does anyone have an issue with this?"

"As long as there's someplace dark and quiet for me to bunker down, I don't give a shit how we get there," Ares said, blowing smoke out toward the vidscreen before glancing her way. He flicked a mandible and shrugged.

"That's … quite generous of you." Thane's voice drew her gaze to him, and he dipped his head to Isaac. "Certainly, it will provide us with quite the advantage."

No one else seemed to have anything to say about it, so Jasmine took their silence as her cue to continue. "Since this is a human colony planet, the humans of our group will go into the settlement closest to the Cerberus facility while the rest of you hang back. We'll be looking to gather information but also to feel out the general mood of the settlement. We need to see if these people are a part of what's going on at the facility, and we need to make sure anyone who isn't doesn't get dragged into the mess when the fighting starts."

"Theodus and I can look through any local servers while we wait," Avalina said.

Theodus gently cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "I believe it may be best for me to take less of an in person approach to this mission. I think we can all agree I'm less than qualified to be in the middle of a fight, and I'm still healing from Gellix." He gave them a self-deprecating smile and waved his hand. "I'd still like to join you, but perhaps I should remain on this ship of Malcolm's until the facility has been cleared. I'll do what I can to support your infiltration efforts from the ship in the meantime."

Jasmine gave him a sympathetic smile and nodded. "Any help you can provide will be appreciated."

"I'm reaching out to some people I trust to see about setting up a medevac for any sick survivors we find inside." Isaac glanced at Jasmine, and something about the look in his eyes made it clear to her there was a private conversation between the two of them waiting to happen. "There's no guarantees, yet, but I should know something before we ship out. I'd really like to avoid a repeat of what happened on Gellix."

"So would I." Jasmine sucked in a deep breath. "I'm sending everyone a full report of everything we've gathered on Chasca. Take some time to look over everything, and we'll meet again when the ship arrives to make final plans."

* * *

"I talked to my dad …." Isaac sat down on his couch, elbows on his knees, and rubbed his hands over his face.

Jasmine sat sideways next to him, propping her elbow on the back of the couch and cradled her head in her palm. "How'd it go?"

"I didn't want to involve him in this, but I really didn't know what else to do." He shifted to mirror her posture. "He's got contacts and money. He's willing to hire a private company, people he knows and had fully vetted, to work with us on medevacing survivors. He's just waiting for my say so."

Chewing on the corner of her lip, she sucked in a deep breath. "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know." He rubbed his palm over his scalp, moving back to front, a couple of times. Shaking his head, he said it again, "I don't know."

"Well … you reached out to him ….." Giving him a weak smile, she popped a shoulder up and let it drop again. "We need the help, Bossman. If he can help, and you trust he'd know if they were involved with Cerberus or aren't discreet …." She watched him a moment and then, with a softer voice, asked, "What's holding you back?"

The silence stretched, seemingly without end, before Isaac finally said, "He's my dad.  _Adrian Winter_." He groaned, scrubbing his hand over his face. "Pops doesn't do anything no strings attached. If I accept his help on this … he'll have leverage over me; he and I both know it's true."

She pursed her lips and nodded. She didn't spend a whole lot of time with the Winter family, but she definitely got that sort of vibe off of Adrian. Knowing how tense things were between Isaac and his father, it really didn't feel fair to push him one way or the other.

Pushing up on her knees, she leaned in and put a hand on each of his shoulders, squeezing gently. "I'll support your decision no matter what, Isaac. If accepting your dad's help comes at too high of a price, then we'll find help somewhere else." She dropped her hands and shrugged. "Thane knows a salarian doctor who's former STG … maybe he can help somehow?"


	13. Iliad

**Iliad**

Jasmine crossed her arms, leaning her elbows on the railing as she looked over the dry-docked ship Isaac pointed out to her. It wasn't particularly large, but really, it seemed kind of perfect for their mission. A crew already worked on the repairs and upgrades Isaac asked for, including scrubbing the ship's old name— _The Rammstein_ —from the sides.

"Want to take the tour? Meet the crew?" Isaac bumped her with his elbow and raised an eyebrow when she glanced at him.

Pushing off the rail, she shrugged. "Sure. What are you going to name it?"

"I don't know." He turned and started walking down the dock towards the ship. "If I didn't think it'd hinder our movements in Citadel space, I wouldn't name it at all, but it's not really feasible."

She followed after him, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "It doesn't look human in design."

"It's not." Reaching past her, he pointed a finger at the curve of the bow and then the wings. "It was originally an asari ship, but the thing has been bought and sold so many times, it's been owned by half the species in the galaxy at one point or another."

"Mmm. Makes it easier to hide the current registration," she said as they turned to the opened airlock.

"Exactly." He bobbed his head and held a hand out, urging her to go in ahead of him.

She made her way into a bustle of activity as men and women of a variety of species worked to check all of the equipment, make repairs, and restock the ship. An asari holding a datapad appeared to oversee the work of several other asari, using their biotics to hold sheets of metal in position while others bolted and welded them into place. She glanced over as Isaac led Jasmine in her direction, and grinned at him. Isaac nodded his head to an empty corner, and the asari excused herself to follow them over.

"Serra, this is Jasmine." He glanced back to Jasmine and added, "Serra will handle the ship's weapons and shields."

"Limited though they may be." Serra smiled and held a hand out to Jasmine.

Returning the smile, Jasmine shook the asari's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Serra and I go way back." Isaac reached over and squeezed Serra's shoulder. "She's good people, and she's personally invested in our mission."

Jasmine nodded, making a mental note of the tidbit of information. Maybe she'd ask Serra about it sometime, depending on how friendly the asari proved herself without Isaac around.

"Give us the tour, Serra. Introduce us to the important people." Isaac dropped his hand back to his side.

"I suppose the most important person would be Maphelia." Serra jerked her head toward the front of the ship and started walking. "Our pilot."

Jasmine stayed close to Isaac's side as they followed the asari down a hall lined with wall-mounted monitors displaying various ship metrics. Her translator might as well have been off for all the sense any of it made to her. Glancing at Isaac, she watched as he looked over one of the displays and nodded to himself. She wondered how much time he'd spent on a ship, and whether he ever actually took part in the day to day running of one.

Serra stopped just inside the cockpit and scoffed softly. "Wake up, Maphelia, we have company."

A turian woman, legs stretched out over a row of seats, grunted and cracked an eye. Her gaze roamed slowly over Isaac before shifting to Jasmine. Flicking a mandible, she closed her eye again and said, "Nothing for me to do in dry dock, might as well sleep. Entertaining company isn't a part of my job description."

"It is when the company will be responsible for your pay." Serra marched over and shoved the turian's feet off the chairs, earning her a growl. "Get up!"

The corner of Jasmine's mouth barely twitched as she suppressed a snort, and she turned sideways, glancing back the way they came to assure herself the path to the exit remained clear. In unfamiliar territory surrounded by strangers with unknown expectations, she defaulted back to her training. And just then, her training told her to be vigilant and remain neutral to interpersonal interactions for the time being. She knew soon she'd be put in situations where she'd need to trust the crew with her life, but she couldn't do that until she had a solid read on their motivations, relationships, and roles—both professional and personal—aboard the ship.

With a heavy, annoyed chuff, Maphelia stood and stretched her arms out over her head before turning back to face Jasmine and Isaac. She studied them a moment and flicked a mandible. "You must be Malcolm," she said, gaze sweeping over Isaac again as she moved closer and shook his hand. "As I just told Serra, there's not much for me to do while we're in dry-dock, but I assure you the vessel flies smoothly. If you want a full report, it can be accessed at one of the consoles."

"Thanks." Isaac bobbed his head and then crossed his arms loosely over his chest when she released his hand. "Wouldn't you be more comfortable resting in the crew quarters?"

Maphelia hummed, mandibles fluttering gently against her jaws. "I've piloted this ship for the last seven cycles. There's nowhere I'm more comfortable than in this cockpit."

"I'm pretty sure she'd bond herself to the ship if such a thing were possible." Serra chuckled and shook her head before settling her gaze back on Isaac. "Come on, I'll show you the rest of the ship."

Jasmine only half listened as Serra took them through the ship, pointing out different areas of varying use. Instead, she payed attention to the exists from each room, took notice of whether the ceilings had moveable tiles or maintenance doors hidden among the walls. She marked the locations of visible cameras and made a mental note to check for less obvious surveillance devices later.

She did her best to commit names and faces to memory: Sokeert, the salarian who managed the kitchen; Raph, the human in charge of general ship maintenance; Leendar, the turian medic; Farene, the asari inventory specialist; Janet, the human navigator who would normally be found in the cockpit with Maphelia; and on and on. It seemed Isaac made a point of requesting a diverse crew, which was probably a good thing considering who exactly they were going up against. She even met an old krogan, Urtak, working on the lowest decks who kept the shuttles in shape, and two batarians in engineering named Rathgar and Calygh—apparently a married couple.

"The upper deck was designed as living quarters for the family of the ship's original owners." Serra glanced at Isaac as she pushed the button inside the elevator. "In the past, it's served many other purposes, but at your request, I've had it cleared for your personal use."

The elevator opened up into a hall extending out toward the back of the ship. It was quiet and still up there, no one moving about or working on anything. Tension unwound in Jasmine's shoulders, and she allowed herself to stray from Isaac's side for the first time since boarding the ship. Glancing over her shoulder, she realized there was something behind the elevator as well.

"It's a small kitchen," Serra said.

Jasmine glanced at her and nodded, but moved to open the door anyway and see for herself. Ceramic overlayed counters and appliances filled the room, as expected. In the corner sat a family-sized, rounded, booth-style table. She smirked, trying to imagine their motley group sitting down for daily meals together. It'd never happen, especially not in a booth, even if it was big enough to fit everyone—which it most certainly wasn't.

"Shared bathroom?" Isaac said, and Jasmine turned around to see him standing in a doorway.

"Shared bathroom." Serra chuckled, slapping Isaac's shoulder. "You'll live."

Jasmine smiled again and moved to stand with Isaac, looking into the bathroom set with three toilet stalls, sinks, and opened showers. "We can work out a rotation, if we end up needing to."

He draped an arm over her shoulders and palmed the side of her head, pulling her in closer before whispering against her hair, "I'm not showering with you, Sunshine. I've seen enough of your tits to last a lifetime, and I don't want to see anything else."

Snorting, she laughed and slapped his stomach, surprised he allowed her to actually make contact. "Shut up."

He chuckled and gently shoved her away again before looking at Serra. "Show me the bedrooms."

"How many are there?" Jasmine asked, glancing down the hall and counting doors. "Four?"

"Yes, though each is big enough to comfortably house four people using bunks," Serra said with a shrug, "six if you don't mind crowding. There are other spaces which can be converted on the lower deck as well." She moved to the nearest door and opened it, waving a hand inside. "How many of you are coming aboard?"

"There's seven of us." Isaac wrapped one arm around himself, resting the elbow of the other on top and stroked his chin. "I know some of us don't mind sharing, so I think we'll be good for now. We may end up needing to expand later, though."

* * *

Jasmine opened her omni-tool running the number through her head twice before realizing it belonged to Ares. She accepted the call with a smile on her face, but then, seeing how restless and agitated he seemed, she furrowed her brow and let the grin slip away. "Hey, what's up?"

"Charles was shot," he said with a low growl. "Don't know the exacts yet, but it was some shitshow between C-Sec and some other fucks. I'm going to the hospital now."

Snapping to full attention, she sat upright. "I'll come with you if you want. Do you need me to do anything? Get anything? Figure out who's responsible?"

He barked a sharp, bitter laugh. "Oh, I'll find out who did it … but no. He's still in surgery right now …. It'll be easier to get myself back there alone." After a long pause, he hummed and flicked his mandibles. "Appreciate it, though."

She gave him a soft, weak smile. "Of course. If there's anything you need, just let me know. Maybe if he's up for company when he wakes up, I'll swing by." She hesitated a moment, knowing she'd sound calloused but there really wasn't any way around asking. The sooner she knew, the better. "I assume you won't be joining us when we head out this time?"

He paused, eyes narrowing a hair. She winced, more for his benefit than hers. Really, he had her every sympathy. She remembered how afraid she'd been when Mouse showed up at her door to tell her Thane had been hurt, and they weren't even together yet when it happened. She didn't even want to think about how freaked out she'd be if something else ever happened to the man she loved.

"No. Not while he's going to be there." He lit a cigarette, and she thought she saw a slight tremor to his hand as he took a long, deep drag. "I need to watch his back while he's down."

"I completely understand. I only ask because we'll need to change plans, but whatever." Christ, she hated having to ask, but at least he didn't call her a cold-hearted bitch. She waved, brushing aside the topic. "Honestly, if you  _didn't_  want to stay, I'd be pretty pissed at you."

"Yeah, yeah …. Had to ask for clarification." He rumbled and took a drag, letting out a thick, billowing cloud of smoke. "I get it. Just don't get yourself shot because I'm not there to cover your ass."

She smirked, shrugging a bit. "No promises. Go, get to Charles. Let me know how it went when he wakes up?"

"Yeah," he said with another low rumble, sounding less frantic and more just plain annoyed. "I'll see if he's up for visitors. Maybe I'll get a chance to do some digging if I can leave him under your watch."

Eyebrow twitching with her surprise, she spoke without hesitation, "If he's good with it, I'm good with it."

"Good." He hummed. "Probably best if he is …. Can't say I'll be able to stay calm the entire time if he isn't going to be okay while I hunt down whoever fucking shot him."

"You'll get them, one way or another." She took a deep breath and nodded. "However I can help."

"I'll let you know when I do." He ended the call.

* * *

"Thank you for agreeing to speak with me," Thane said, folding his hands on the table in front of him as he took in the older turian couple on his laptop's screen. "I'm told you may have some information on the collectors, and I'm more than willing to compensate you for whatever information you can provide as well as your time."

"That nice young man, Ray, said you're helping him to fight Cerberus," Mellina said, a smile on her face as her mandibles fluttered.

"If that's the truth, then we don't need anything else from you," Lenat, her bondmate added. "But I'm afraid there really isn't much we can tell you."

"It is true, yes." Thane dipped his head. "Please, any information you have, no matter how small, might be of use."

"Well, let's see …." Mellina hummed, tapping a talon against the surface of the old, worn, wooden table. "They come from beyond the Omega 4 Relay, but you probably already know that. Hmm. They trade advanced technology for living specimens, though what in the name of the Spirits they do with those poor souls, I can only guess." She paused, gaze drifting away and mandibles falling slack as she seemed to think over the possibilities. "Most sightings occur on the Omega station where they make most of their trades, but I've heard they sometimes visit smaller colonies in the Terminus."

"Do you know which colonies?" Thane asked.

Perhaps if he had specific locations, he might convince Isaac to make a stop or two to investigate. He hadn't spoken to Isaac about the collectors, but he did believe the man would be every bit as concerned with their activities as was Thane. He didn't wish to detract from their mission against Cerberus, but surely if Isaac knew of the things the collectors did …. The holes in his memory continued to spite him, and a part of him knew it to truly be the driving force behind his investigation. It wasn't to say he didn't care about the things happening to others like Sahnira's victims, only the ordeal had become personal to him, much as Cerberus had for Jasmine.

The couple shared a weighted look with one another before Lenat answered, "I'm afraid we don't have the information readily available, but give us a little time and we can get a list of locations for you."

"That would be greatly appreciated." Thane dipped his head before asking, "Do you know if there have ever been reports of collectors working  _with_  other species … or even the geth?"

"The geth?" Lenat's mandibles flared wide, brow plates dipping low.

"Indeed," Thane said.

"No … no, I don't think so." Mellina looked at her bondmate, confusion just as clear in her expression.

"I see. Has there been any indication of their using strange artifacts to control others?" Thane licked his lips, watching the two turians closely. "Large, glowing orbs or perhaps something made of a dark metal?"

"Control … I—no …." Mellina's mandibles drooped as she narrowed her eyes at Thane.

Lenat cleared his throat, mandibles still and close to his face. "It sounds as if  _we_  should be asking  _you_  questions about the collectors."

* * *

"Dr. Solus," Thane smiled and dipped his head. "Thank you for returning my call."

"Message indicated you wish to discuss human terrorist group Cerberus." Dr. Solus' blink was the only pause in his speech. "Suspect connection between Cerberus and collectors?"

"Ah, no." Thane waved a hand and added, "Although, their methodology is similar in its level of gruesomeness and utter disregard for the pain and suffering of others."

Surprisingly, the salarian remained quiet. He blinked twice, but otherwise, he seemed intent on waiting for Thane to make his intentions clear. It came in strong contrast to Dr. Solus' usual methodology of running through observations until he'd deduced the answers himself. It was almost unnerving to see the salarian sit motionless and in silence.

"My associates and I encountered many individuals held captive within a Cerberus facility on Gellix." Bringing a fist to his mouth, Thane coughed and then folded his hands on the table. "They'd been subjected to terrible experimentations and were in critical condition. We were in no position to help them and so decided to act with mercy."

"Experimentations?" Dr. Solus asked, leaning forward enough to prop an elbow on his desk and cradling his chin in his hand.

"Some of the … subjects displayed extreme tissue necrosis, disfigurement, and neurological issues." Clearing his throat, Thane shifted in his seat, fighting back the vivid memories of the atrocities found in the facility. "Some were clearly malnourished and others mentally … shattered; no longer truly aware of the world around them."

"Species?" Dr. Solus asked, voice and expression remaining neutral.

"Human and turian, though they're known to have abducted and experimented on asari as well." Thane hesitated a moment before moving forward with his request and explanations. "My associates and I intend to infiltrate more Cerberus facilities. We believe it's quite likely we will discover more victims who will be in need of serious medical attention. However, given that we are not working under the authority of any governing body …."

Dr. Solus nodded as if he understood Thane's predicament in its entirety. "Require discrete method of onsite treatment and transportation of patients."

"Precisely." Thane dipped his head in concession. "We hoped you might have some suggestions or connections to aid in this matter."

Dr. Solus leaned back in his chair, resting his hands on his concave abdomen and hummed. "Need a couple of days to prepare assistant to take over clinic. Meet on Omega. Will join you and provide immediate care for patients. Unsure about transportation to medical facilities … will speak with my contacts. Either way, happy to help."

* * *

"He wants to join us?" Isaac lifted his eyebrows, chin dipping toward his chest.

Thane tucked his hands behind his back and nodded. "Indeed."

"And you think this is a good idea?" Crossing his arms, Isaac leaned against the back of the couch.

"I have seen him in battle, he is highly skilled. He is also discreet. I believe his loyalties will lie entirely with helping those who need help, regardless of traditional protocols." Thane offered Isaac a reassuring smile. "He will not hesitate to kill those working for Cerberus, he will see this as his duty, a part of helping his patients."

Isaac turned his gaze on Jasmine and raised an eyebrow. "Sunshine?"

"I haven't met him," she said with a shrug, "but if Thane's willing to extend his trust, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't accept the help." Something dark ghosted over her eyes, and she cleared her throat. "Especially given Nemos won't be joining us again for a while."

Observing Jasmine's distress, Thane wagered Ares had either been seriously injured or found himself in some sort of trouble. Trouble Jasmine felt compelled to help him out of, and were it not for their mission, Thane suspected she would be with the turian that very moment. She didn't wish to share the specifics with him in honor of Ares' privacy, and he respected the decision. The reasoning for her attachment and loyalty to Ares continued to evade Thane, but he'd learned to trust Ares meant his siha no harm. So, he didn't question her secrecy, but still, it pained him to see that look in her eyes and not know what caused it.

Isaac hummed and bobbed his head. "Alright, we'll talk it over with the others. As long as there aren't any serious protests, he's in. How soon will he know something about transporting sick people away from the facility?"

"He didn't specify," Thane said and waved a hand, "but I imagine he'll have answers by the time we reach Omega."

Jasmine looked down at her omni-tool as it flashed then opened the device. Whatever the message said, it relaxed the tension in her jaw, and she smiled when she looked up at them again. "I've got to head out for a bit. I should be back in a couple of hours." Moving closer to Thane, she grabbed the lapels of his jacket in both hands and tugged him closer, and he chuckled. Pushing up on her toes a little, she leaned into him and kissed him, lips soft and sweet against his. "When I get back," she said, voice pitched low, "I thought you and I might go catch a movie or something."

"Whatever you'd like, siha. I look forward to your return." He cupped the side of her face and kissed her again. "Give Nemos my regards." He smirked at the surprised uptick of her eyebrow but didn't bother to explain his conclusions.

"I will." She gave him a soft smile and stepped back, turning her head to look at Isaac. "Later, Bossman."

Isaac raised a hand before letting it drop again. "Later."

* * *

Jasmine left the hospital and headed for the rapid transit stand. After calling a taxi, she rubbed a hand over her face and let out a deflated sigh. She paced as she waited for the skycar, the scars in her shoulder and stomach giving her phantom aches as she considered Charles' condition. Like her, he'd taken two hits, but unlike her, he'd been unlucky enough to take one in his lung. He looked like shit, and God only knew if he'd make a full recovery. When the cab arrived, she climbed inside and entered the address for her and Thane's apartment.

First impressions of the way Charles and Ares behaved while she was there might've lead someone else to believe the man really wasn't hurt all that bad, but Jasmine was never one to work on first impressions alone. Ares was worried out of his mind, even if he tried not to let it show, hiding behind his crass sense of humor and blasé attitude. Charles downplayed his pain, and despite his complaints, it was clear to Jasmine that he, too, was afraid. Also, she'd made a couple of interesting observations: the thought of being bound terrified the hell out of Charles, and he held a deeply rooted hatred of hospitals. Not that those pieces of information did anyone a damn bit of good.

Either way, hearing the extent of his injuries told her all she really needed to know. Charles was down for the count for the foreseeable future, and Ares wasn't leaving his side any time soon—and rightly so—not even to track down the people responsible. Her gut told her if something happened, if Charles didn't pull through, Ares would go on a rampage and then disappear in a puff of smoke, never to be seen or heard from again.

And really, she wouldn't blame him. Not one, single bit.

She just kept thinking of the sight of Isaac lying unconscious while Theodus bled out next to him. She'd taken control of the situation on Gellix, but not without Raúl challenging her. If Ares hadn't spoken up on her behalf, shit might've gone far worse. She didn't think Raúl was likely to push her again if something came up where she needed to take charge, but without Ares, it meant one less likely vote in her favor. Without Ares, it meant more opportunity for something to go wrong. She really hoped Dr. Solus was as good in a fight as Thane seemed to think he was.

She climbed out of the skycar when it stopped, contemplating suggesting to Isaac they do a little more recruiting. Maybe Razik … he seemed like he could be a good choice down the line, even if she didn't know him well. Though, it was probably best to wait and see how things went on Chasca before bringing it up. Assuming they actually  _survived_  Chasca. And … with the facility on Gellix being small in comparison … well, she damn well prayed God was on their side.

Thane met her at the door, his omni-tool opened. "I took the liberty of compiling a list of things we might see, if you'd still like to go to the theater?"

She smiled and moved into his embrace, rubbing a cheek against the leather of his vest and exposed scales of his chest. Wrapping her arms around him, she held on tight, breathing deeply of his scent. He pulled her in closer, pressing his lips to the top of her head and held her in silence for a moment.

Brushing his hand over the side of her head, thumb snagging on her jaw, he urged her to meet his gaze. "If you would rather return to Ares, I understand, siha. I don't know what troubles he faces, but I do know he is your friend and you are concerned for him."

"No," she said, reaching up to trace the ridges along his cheek. "I'd only be in the way. So, show me what you found."

* * *

Bags slung over her shoulders, Jasmine stood next to Thane as they stared up at the newly renamed  _Iliad_ and took a deep breath. "Well," she said, keeping her voice just between the two of them, "this is either really useful or really stupid, but either way … there's really no turning back now."

"And would you?" Thane wrapped an arm around her shoulder and glanced her way. "Turn back, that is?"

She let a long moment of silence fill the air as she considered all of the reasons she  _should_  turn around and walk away from all the insanity, but she knew she had no intention of backing down. "No. You?"

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to do good." He eased one of the bags free from her grasp, the one holding her sniper rifle, and she let him shift the weight of it to his own shoulder. "It doesn't come without doubts and fears, but what we are doing is  _good_ , siha."

She smiled at him, feeling so completely in love with him in the moment, her heart stuttered in her chest. "Yeah," she said. "It's good. It's the right thing to do. Leon, the Alliance, and the Phantoms aside … this is the right thing to do."

"Indeed." He leaned in and kissed her before turning his attention back to the ship.

Raúl walked past them, Theodus at his side, talking in hushed tones as they headed toward the  _Iliad_. She smirked at the furrowed brow on Raúl, but despite it, he seemed to be getting along with Theodus rather well considering the way things started between them. Avalina followed not far behind, and Isaac stopped next to Jasmine's side.

"You two good?" he asked, gaze flicking between her and Thane.

She nodded, slid her arm through Thane's, and started walking. "We're good."


End file.
